Mark of Failure
by GatsuBerk
Summary: On the Night of Mizuki's betray Naruto takes hold of a dark secret long forgotten. Can the world survive the rise of a new tyrant? What will happen to those that had to depend on a hero?
1. His Failures

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

**Jutsu**

Chapter 1 : His Failures

The sound of heavy breathing filled the air as its maker stared at a mirror. His cerulean eyes flashed red for a moment making him strike the dark reflection. His world had just been turned upside down. His life was placed in jeopardy as an evil man used him for his own gain.

The foolish blond was desperate to reach his dream. His need for attention so great that he did something he knew was wrong. He had broken into the home of the only man that had shown signs of caring for him. To make things worse he had been caught in the act by said man. His way to escape had been by using his unorthodox skills, to make his mentor faint.

The young male blond was clouded in smoke before being revealed as an older female. Her fleshy curves were too stimulating for the was harden elder. After his escape the golden blond went into the next phase of his make up exam. He spent many hours learning his most hated jutsu from the largest scroll he had ever laid his hands on.

As the sun prepared to raise into the sky, the sun kissed blond was found by his hated teacher. Few words were exchanged between the two, before the boy had been sent flying. He looked with rage at the man that had attacked him. His eyes grew as he saw the man be covered in blades. He followed the man's eyes of sight to see his second instructor. The one that had told him about the second test. The next hour the golden blond wished had never happened. It pained him to remember every detail. The most painful part was that he learned the the demon fox had been sealed in him, His rage had grown to a new lever he had never felt before.

A great source of power was erupting from within, as a dark voice began to fill his mind. He had planned to follow the command of the demon calling to him, however the kind words coming from his hated instructor prevented him. His mind shattered at how the man declared him a member of the village that he wasn't the demon fox he contained. The golden blond showed his sudden mastery of his new skill and laid a savage beating on the man known as Mizuki.

Iruka was dumbfounded as his student had beaten a Chuunin in battle. _' Two fools underestimated him tonight, I can never change the past but from now on I will be there for you Naruto.' _

The man saw no reason to hold the young golden blond back. He instantly graduated him and to celebrate took him to eat. Making the hidden watcher glad and proud of what had happened. Naruto was so glad that he hadn't taken the wounds on Iruka seriously. Before they could part ways the kind Chuunin fell to his knees. Instantly the golden blond rushed to his side, hoping to help. He was suddenly pushed away by the Chuunin. The golden blond at him in disbelief. Iruka had not wanted to hurt his student, but Naruto had placed his hand too hard on a wound. Iruka's eyes grew as he saw the pain in Naruto's eyes.

_' What have I done?'_ Iruka thought as villagers quickly rushed the boy to get him away from the loved instructor. Iruka couldn't believe how the people of his precious home openly attacked an innocent boy. Naruto rushed from the growing mob and used his new jutsu to safely reach home. His mind filling with how his idiocy had caused so much pain. He felt he didn't deserve anything and went on to trash his near empty apartment.

" It's all my fault, if I hadn't trusted him none of this would have happened." Naruto yelled in rage as he looked at his recently broken mirror. His eyes grew as he saw a certain ring. One he obtained on a trip with his mentor. He remember that day clearly, they went to a festival and he was given a nice amount of cash to have fun. He was so excited about being in a such fun filled place that he wasn't thinking right. Though at the time he didn't knew any better. He had visited a few booths and filled his stomach and his hands with goods. He had spent little money because of the fact it had been so easy to win the things he wanted. He could remember the creepy voice of the old fortune teller that had gotten his attention. He walked with curiosity at the simple stand. The old woman sat behind a table with a that held a crystal ball. She clearly conned him into paying to see his future and then claimed to see that it was going to be a dark and difficult one. She wowed him into buying the ring he now stared at.

" It will protect you from great evil and bring you greater strength." Naruto remembered her words as the image of a younger him gave away all of his money. He took his new ancient ring of protection to his mentor. He wanted the man to be proud of him. In his mind buying the ring was a great decision for a future Hokage.

" Naruto you've been robbed." The Hokage said clearly bringing pain to the boy. " This ring is useless, the metal is rusted, the gem is cracked and such a small thing is useless to a Shinobi. Naruto you can't keep letting people trick you. I want you to wear it as a reminder, that not everyone is your friend." The Hokage said making the young Naruto sad while his current form looked at the large old ring.

Since it was to big to fit him the Hokage had bought him a necklace to put through the ring,

" I didn't wear the ring because it made the Hokage disappointed. He was right, I do trust people too much." Naruto said as he took the ring off the top of the mirror. The necklace had been stolen long ago when his apartment was destroyed by angry villagers/ He still couldn't believe he was to be stick with the useless item his whole life. He let out a sigh as he saw the ring was only small enough to be worn on his thumb.

" I can't trust anyone not even myself." The golden blond said as his voice became drowsy. The last thing he remembered was the scent of fire.

" Hokage-sama! Naruto's apartment is on fire!" A man said as he rushed into the village leader's office. The powerful man grew a look of great rage before standing to see the situation. The man couldn't believe that someone would attack the boy. His eyes grew when the high level ANBU reported the boy was not to be found.

+-*/*-+

**Hope you enjoyed it as much as me. I worked solo on this fic, don't expect profesional work since its too troublesome to do. If you like it tell me so I can post more.**


	2. A New Life

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

**Jutsu**

Chapter 2 A New Life

" How are you feeling?" A kind voice said as a certain sun kissed blond opened his cerulean eyes.

_' How can this boy be the demon fox? He looked so peaceful asleep.' _The young nurse thought as she looked at her temporary charge. She had drawn straws with the staff for the job. No one wanted the hatefully duty of taking care of the village's pariah.

Naruto looked around and wasn't too surprised to find himself in the hospital.

" Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?" The woman asked as she tried to get closer.

_' Poor thing looked better of dead when the ANBU brought him in? How can he stand living here after what the village puts him through?' _The woman thought as her mind was flooded with the many times Naruto had been brought in through out his short life. He had a medical record bigger than most retired Shinobi.

" I'll be fine. Your generosity should be used on others that want it." Naruto said with a cold tone making the previous caring teen to leave the room.

_' See what I care demon, why don't you go ahead and die? That way Konoha can finally rest in peace.' _The woman thought as she hurried to check on her next patient. _' Isn't it this kind of thinking that put him here in the first place?'_ The nurse thought in a more rational way as she turned to look at the open door of Naruto's room.

Naruto went on to removing the bandages around his body. He finally turned to undo his right arm that felt heavier than before. He let out a scream as he saw it covered with a black and silver metal. His hands had a bladed edge that gave him light claws.

" My arm what happened to it?" The golden blond said as his eyes followed the metal seeing it run all over his arm and cover the right side of his chest. He stood and rushed to a mirror, he couldn't believe how light the metal was and how there was no sign of the metal being attached to his body. More like it was just sitting on him, something he knew was impossible. The golden blond hurried to the small closet for his things as he heard the Hokage coming to his room. He rushed to his window and ran from the hospital as fast as possible. He knew the Hokage was going to be upset, he knew from experience that the man would question him about the attack. The problem was that he had no idea about what had happened. That was only going to make it worse, meaning the man was going to be more upset than usual. A thing he did not wish to experience.

He went home only to find it burned to the ground, along with a large chunk of the complex. His eyes grew in disbelief as he looked at the charred room. All his memories and valuables gone. He now had nothing to his name but the old and worthless ring.

Naruto planned to glare at his cursed object. He looked to his right arm flinching at the sight of the inhuman metal. Shock filled his face once more as he saw the ring smaller now and on his pinky finger. The brand new looking ring glowed out a light. The golden blond open and closed his arm. He had heard and seen Shinobi loose a limb and have a fake one placed. What he had not heard was a fake arm react as fast as the the one he had on. Also he didn't feel like those that had lost a part of themselves. He wasn't feeling down or weak.

In fact something inside him said he was stronger than before. Naruto looked at the gem with curiosity. It looked so different to his eyes, he was surprised to find a symbol he had never seen deep in the gem.

" Naruto you are alive!" A voice said making the golden blond turn.

" You make it sound like you care." Naruto's words makes his formal classmate glare at him as she stood with her parents.

" That was a bit rude." The platinum blond man said making Naruto glare at him. He soon calmed down using a Shinobi breathing exercise shocking those that knew his reputation.

" I don't got time for this." Naruto said while wrapping up his right arm with bandages. Good luck had finally reached, since the family had not seen the newly armored arm.

" You can say that again, you look terrible in a hospital gown." Ino said making her parents glare at her. They had yet to tell her daughter what happened to her classmates, since they didn't know her view on her fellow blond.

" Not to be rude but I have never cared about the crap that comes out of your mouth." Naruto said before tying the gown together and walking from the family.

" Naruto do you have a place to stay at?" Ino's mother asked making Naruto pause. She had asked in a kind and sincere way, something he had never experienced before from strangers.

" I'm going back to the hospital." Naruto said before walking into the rubble of what played the part of his home. Using his exposed arm, Naruto removed the debris until lifting a final board to expose a small metal box.

" What's that?" Ino asked with curiosity, she had never known much of Naruto and wondered what he treasured.

" It's my life." Naruto said before walking past the still curious blond.

" Can I see?" Ino asked with a cutesy voice making Naruto glare at her.

" No." His cold response made her glare at his back as he walked away. No one ever denied her anything, she promised to get the stupid blond back.

+-*/*-+

_' I can't believe I lost everything.'_ The blond thought as he walked through the business district. He finally came to a stop, he looked into a tailor shop he had never seen before. He walked in with hesitation, he never liked spending time with the greedy merchants.

The door bell sounded as he went into the building easily catching the attention of the owner. She normally would throw him out, however seeing him in a such a poor state changed her mind. Not to mention hearing how he was left to burn made her seen him in a new light.

" So what do you need?" The woman asked making Naruto turn to her.

" Some clothes would be nice." Naruto said as he saw the woman walk around the counter.

" What exactly are you looking for?" The woman said catching Naruto off guard.

" What do you mean?" Naruto said making the woman study him.

" Is there a certain look or color you like, I do have some orange." The woman said with some disgust.

" Just something that will keep others a safe distance from me, oh and I need this to be well covered." Naruto said pointing at his right limb. " Is it really that bad?" The woman said making Naruto look at the limb and then at her. " I'm not ready to let anyone see it yet." Naruto said making the woman nod her head. She had seen many of her friends become distant after an accident.

" Let me measure you and I'll see what I can do." The woman said before getting a nod almost a minute later. _' Looks like he has trust problems, not like I can blame him.'_ The woman thought while she did the measuring.

Naruto went into a changing room after she gathered a few things. Naruto couldn't say his new look sucked, though it was a simple. Black ANBU style pants and sandals, light chain mail hidden under bandages, that covered his torso and arms. A large black trench coat that was clearly too big.

" You don't have to worry about this getting dirty because of a few special seals. However..." The woman paused her speech before cutting the sleeve of the left arm to expose his hand. " I saw you can still use it but don't over do it." The woman said making the golden blond pay his stuff.

_' He's not a bad kid, I wonder what other rumors has the village made from bull?' _The woman thought as she got to work on making a new look for an older Naruto. He was surprised at how cheap the things he bought was. Concerning the number of extra rolls of tape and change of pants he got.

" Uzumaki. The Hokage wishes to have a word with you." An ANBU said as the blond walked towards a motel.`

+-*/*-+

**Thank You for reading and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. This story will take more time to post since I have to type it from the notebook I originally wrote it down. Sadly I can be a bit lazy so don't hold your breathe. As you can tell Naruto is starting to change I will explain that later.**

_' Damn and I thought things couldn't get worse.' _Naruto thought as, being the new Shinobi that he was, he followed the high ranking Shinobi all the way to the tower.


	3. Enter the Mandarin

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

**Jutsu**

Chapter 3 Enter the Mandarin

The Hokage had been going over the information his Shinobi had obtain on the situation that had befallen Naruto. The man was clearly surprised to see his grandson like figure in such dark clothes when the formerly carefree blond came in.

" Naruto we need to talk about the other day." The Hokage said making the blond uncomfortable.

" I don't know what happened or how I got to the hospital." Naruto said making the village leader shake his head.

" I didn't expect you to... the woman that had drugged you was Mizuki's lover." The fire shadow said making Naruto look at him with disbelief. " She felt that his love would forever be hers if she finished what he started. She has agreed to pay the fine for destroying your home along with the original amount Mizuki had to pay. The combined amounts will be more that enough to get you a new place." The Hokage said as he handed a check to Naruto.

The blond looked at the amount of money in his hands with awe. Such an amount was something he could only dream off.

" That is not the only reason for me to have summoned you. The incident involving the forbidden scroll is why you are here." The Hokage said making Naruto even more uncomfortable, something the war harden veteran easily caught on.

" Normally you would have to pay a fine and have your chakra sealed just for coming into contact with the legacy of the Hokages." The kind man turned into a powerful figure before Naruto's eyes. His power confidence and cold heart made the golden blond gulp.

" However we can't charge you of the crime since you weren't officially a Genin." The Hokage said making Naruto's eyes to grow. " To not make the village look foolish, I am going to award you a B-rank mission completion. You will also obtain B-rank pay but that money will be saved in case your home is destroyed again." The man said making Naruto nod his head.

" Mission details are considered important secrets to the village at this rank. I believe you know the consequences about breaking such secrets." The Hokage said making Naruto to nod his head. The man smiled and became the man that Naruto had seen walking the village before.

" I expect to see your ninja registration completed soon. I don't want you to get in the habit of turning paperwork late." The Hokage said making the golden blond nod his head one more time before leaving.

" Uh Old man?" Naruto said with a bit of discomfort, this was the first time he stood before the Hokage while not in trouble.

The man looked up from his endless supply of paperwork.

" What will happen to Mizuki-sensei and his girl?" Naruto said making the village leader sigh.

" Mizuki has clearly defied us, he will be handled by a special team. His fiancée was desperate and in pain, she will get the proper medical help. Don't worry, they won't be coming near you any time soon." The Hokage said with a reassuring smile.

" Uh thanks." Naruto said before closing the door and finally leaving.

" That boy, perhaps I must become more involved with his life. Other than what I have heard, I know nothing of him. What would you do?" Sarutobi said to himself as he took a puff from his pipe. He let out a cough when his mind made the Yondaime flick him off.

" Maybe this medicinal weed is too much for me?" The Hokage said as he decided to stick to pain killers for help.

+-*/*-+

Naruto still couldn't believe the amount of money he carried. He began to feel uncomfortable with it. Making up his mind he decided it was time to man up. It was time for him to go to one of the places he had learn to fear. A place of such evil that villagers ignored him when it was brought up.

" Welcome to the bank of Konoha." A worker said as he opened the door for Naruto. The new Shinobi didn't like the large amount of people waiting in line. Or the look of death on their face, as if their souls had been completely drained.

_' Fuck this.' _The golden blond thought as he turned around and walked as fast as he could, making sure to get out of the greedy place. He finally learned why people feared banks. It was the creepy smile they gave you when they took your hard earn money.

Uzumaki Naruto had started to get annoyed. He had spent two hours trying to find a bank he could trust. He was preparing to give up until hearing one last man.

"Welcome to the bank of Wind where all Shinobi are welcomed." The bank worker said while passing out cards. Naruto felt that this place was the least dangerous and went in. The man was excited the golden blond walked in, it meant he wasn't going to get fired. Before Naruto could react a woman walked him to a cubicle.

" Are you here to open an account?" The woman said with a smile as they sat down.

" Before I do anything, I want to know more about this place." Naruto said making the woman reach into her desk. Naruto instinctively reached for a kunai. He cursed himself since he was apparently unarmed. He calmed down when the woman brought out a pamphlet.

" Our bank originates from wind country. We just opened a branch here a week ago. But we haven't received many customers." The woman said with much disappointment.

" It's not your fault, the problem is that Konoha is greedy and likes keeping its money." Naruto said making the woman smile.

" Our bank won't charge you as high interest rates as others. Also if you open an account today you get this for free." The woman said showing Naruto a small booklet.

" What's that?"

" This is a one week stay at Suna's most wonderful hotel." The woman said making Naruto take the item to see them.

" Are they real?" the sapphire eyed teen said making the woman laugh.

" Our bank may be small here but in Wind Country we have a lot of influence." The woman said making Naruto shrug his shoulders. He didn't like any of the other banks and this place was some what descent. Plus they offered him a free gift, no one ever gave him anything as a gift.

He spent an hour opening an account. He never knew keeping his money safe was such hard work. His banker was surprised at all the money he had. Even in Konoha she knew most Shinobi only carried a fourth of what he had saved.

Naruto couldn't help but smile when he told her he planned to use his money soon. The woman had instantly lost her smile.

He put his precious gift in the near empty metal box. Only leaving enough to pay for a deposit, he left the bank to work on his new life.

+-*/*-+

Though he had sworn to himself to become stronger he had no real idea on how to do it. That was until he remembered what was on his arm, before he could do anything he wanted answers. After a bit of cursing the golden blond was making a beeline to another place he had long ignored. In a few minutes he came upon the village's library. Unknown to him someone had seen him go in.

Naruto was lead by the receptionist to a few books about gauntlets and ancient rings. Naruto spent an hour going through the ring book, trying to find something that matched his. Only to finish the book with no real leads. Another hour and the book of gauntlets was completely useless to him. The golden blond leaned back and rubbed his temples as he had seen the old man do when Naruto caused him paperwork.

" What are you looking for?"A voice said with all the kindness and sweetness in the world.

" A ring with this mark." Naruto said while pointing at the drawing on a scroll he had made.

" That's the mark of the Mandarin. It represents wind if I remember correctly." The voice said making Naruto to stop leaning back on the chair and look at who helped him. His eyes grew as he saw Ino standing there.

" I've never seen you read so much before." The platinum blond said with a smile, after noticing Naruto's brain had shut down.

" I don't think you've taken a real look at me before." Naruto said making Ino glare.

_' Jerk I was trying to be nice and give you a compliment. Wait... he's a social retard, calm down, calm down and I'm calm.'_ Ino thought before smiling at Naruto again.

" I won't help you with the Mandarin anymore if you don't show me the respect I deserve." Ino said with a fake pout making Naruto let out a sigh.

" What a shame and here I hoped we could have had so much fun working together." Naruto said with sarcasm that Ino did not appreciate.

" At least buy me dinner for helping you." Ino said making Naruto think.

" As long as you promised to not tell anyone about what we talked about." Naruto said making the platinum blond nod her head. She had wasted her graduation money while pampering herself and was running on an empty stomach.

Ino was surprised when Naruto collected his things and went to get help finding new books. She couldn't remember the last time Naruto looked so dedicated. She wondered why this Naruto never showed up at school. His dark look clearly was intimidating and his long sleeve made anyone careful of his right arm. The idea of a concealed weapon filled her head.

" Thank you once again for the help." Naruto said making the librarian to smile. His words made Ino remember what she had to do to eat.

" My father knows a lot about the Mandarin." Ino said as Naruto sat down to read. " My great grandfather spent years doing research but it was all lost during Kyuubi's attack. According to legend the Mandarin had five great rings of power. Each representing a different element." The cerulean eyed young lady, as she thought of herself, said with great pride as if she had done all the work.

" Did your grandfather ever find images of these great rings?" Naruto said making Ino shake her head.

" My great grandfather was a quack. He thought he was a descendant of the Mandarin." Ino said making Naruto look at her with new interest, his powerful glare made her blush.

" Is that all you know?" Naruto said while preparing to open his book. Ino quickly got control of herself once again.

" Legend says that the Mandarin had lived for five hundred years before being defeated by the Iron fighter. The reason my grandfather stopped his research was because he had discovered the Mandarin's curse." Ino said making Naruto get serious.

" The original Mandarin was to be reborn in its descendants, my dad says such a thing is impossible." Ino said making Naruto wonder if the man was right. After all he considered the Kyuubi impossible to fit in him but it was.

_' Great something else that might drive me insane.' _The golden blond thought as he caught a quick glance at his stomach and then his right arm.

" When the Mandarin first died his rings and armor were cast through out his kingdom. Many tried to claim his name and power but all have failed." Ino said making Naruto nod his head. She was shocked that Naruto collected his books and stood.

" You've already given me more than enough information for today. I'm going to check these books out. Wait for me outside." Naruto said making Ino glare at him.

" Oh no, I'm not stupid. I've escaped plenty of losers with the wait outside trick. I know your planning to use the windows." Ino said making Naruto smile.

" I'm an honest guy Ino, I never considered bailing on my promise." Naruto said making Ino look at him with disbelief.

" I always keep my word even if I have to do something I don't like." Naruto said as he headed towards the check out desk.

" You don't like spending time with me?" Ino said making the dark blond to look at her.

" There's one thing I have in common with Sasuke... we both hate fan girls." Naruto said making Ino look at him with rage she had been labeled that way by many before.

Ino tried to hit Naruto on the back of the head. He instantly tilted it making her hit a book shelf. Naruto smirked as he heard thousands of books hit the ground.

" Looks like your going to be here for a while." Naruto said making Ino and the Librarian look at him in disbelief. Naruto brought out a bill and gently swung it to Ino's direction.

" Enjoy your dinner." Naruto said before walking out with three thin books. Leaving a fuming Ino and a librarian to pity him.

** Thank you all for reading. I hoped you enjoyed it and if you have any questions feel free to ask. All I can say at the moment is that I'm planning to make this as much as a unique story as possible.**


	4. His New Power

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

**Jutsu**

Chapter 4 His new power

Uzumaki Naruto was glad that he was able to get rid of Ino. He wanted to learn about the Mandarin and his secrets as soon as possible. The golden blond found a dirt cheap motel and got to reading.

+-*/*-+

" You really are a pig." A voice said making Ino to turn with rage. The platinum blond had been happily eating a Japanese desert before being rudely interupted.

" What do you want Billboard Brow?" Ino said making the pink haired girl mad.

" Have you seen Naruto? Some girls got between me and Sasuke-kun... I need to let off some steam." Sakura said while cracking her knuckles.

" I wouldn't be messing with him if I was you." Ino said making Sakura look at her, before a smug look filled her face.

" Why not? I'm not scared of Naruto like you." Sakura said making Ino blush. When they were smaller Ino believed the rumors that the kind golden blond really was a monster. It had taken a few years of being near him for Ino not to shake when he came around.

She would have liked to apologize for her cold behavior from when she was younger. Yet the fear stayed in he,r since she saw that there was only one person in school that had been able to best the blond in raw power. That person was a professional ninja, she feared that now he could snap her neck in half and was too dangerous to admit to him the wrongs she did long ago.

" I'm not scared of Naruto, it's just that..." Ino said with hesitation making Sakura smirk.

" Don't tell me you like that freak." Sakura said making Ino look at her in disbelief.

" Of course not. Naruto is so stupid..." Ino said before the sight of a researching golden blond came and filled her mind.

" Ugly..." Ino said after shaking her head to get rid of the blond from her head. Only to see Naruto in his new intimidating clothes, his cold dark stare that ran a chill down her spin. The way his hair flowed free making him look more mature and vicious.

Sakura wondered why her rival was suddenly acting so strange.

" I don't like Naruto it's just that.." Ino said struggling to keep her mouth under control. Her father had told her what happened to the blond to help calm his nerves. Only to make Ino an emotional mess.

" I can't say, just leave Naruto alone. He isn't being the same idiot we know." Ino said before paying for her food as Sakura looked at her with confusion. The platinum blond was excited to know she still had money for a few magazines.

Sakura snorted and walked away, she knew the golden blond would never do anything to her. He loved her and only her, he would die for her, so he would gladly take her beatings and then call her the prettiest girl in the world. Sakura smiled as she remembered the perks of having her own private fanboy.

+-*/*-+

Naruto closed his third book seeing that the early signs of light began to fill his temporary room. He had never spent so much time reading, he had stayed up for over twenty hours for his Shinobi training but never to read.

Naruto wasn't sure if he was able to distinguish fact from fiction. Since the three books spoke about the Mandarin legend. Some of the things he read were extreme even by his standards, which had greatly changed recently. He didn't even believe that a Kage was capable of such power.

There was one thing that disturbed him about the Mandarin the most. The man was pure _**EVIL**_.

When Ino had first told him about the amazing power of the Mandarin he figured that the man was one of the awesome good guys he grew up hearing about. After all the man had made a kingdom with his own bare hands and suffered a great number of ordeals to obtain the rings. The Mandarin's empire had lasted for four hundred of his five hundred years of life.

According to the books the rings had extended his life. He didn't know if he could trust the books, he feared that he would be tempted to do things he wouldn't like. Thought he wasn't sure the Mandarin's power should be allowed to found by some wacko. Still to become Hokage, or just gain any form of respect, he knew power was needed. Naruto looked at the ring on his right arm as it pulsed with the promise of accomplishing all of his dreams.

The Mandarin had respect and power, he took what he wanted and during the time of his rule no other force grew to oppose him. Naruto started chuckling, there was no way for a human to have so much power. The blond calmed down and looked out a window.

" This is foolish, I mean if the legends are true. I would be able to got to this window, point my finger and say burn and..." Naruto said as he pointed his index finger to a tower of water. His eyes grew in disbelief as the fire gem glowed brighter than before. He could feel his chakra gather to his armored arm, the silver metal turned into molten red as his chakra flowed to his hand.

His breathe became unstable as his chakra was forced to collect in his index finger. It shot through the glass as a line of flames. Welding its way through the water tower. Naruto wasn't able to see it, but the flames continued through the village torching many thing in its way. Finally stopping at the village's defensive walls. The village went into red alert thinking their enemies were testing out a new weapon. Thanks to the mayhem Naruto was allowed to rest for three days without having to pay.

The golden blond was glad the man was being questioned which was why the ANBU told him to leave the building. Naruto couldn't believe what he caused though it made him excited. He made sure to do more research before experimenting again. There was too much he didn't know on what the rings were really capable of. However the taste of so much power was something he never had before. Especially after hearing from a shinobi that his attack had done so much damage in a few seconds.

He was going to have fun learning more about his weapon, but for the moment there was something he found in the books that caught his attention. Which was the reason he now walked into a Shinobi store.

**Thank You for reading I hope you enjoyed this chapter I had planned to intruduce this one as soon as possible but nothing ever goes completely as planned.**


	5. First Steps

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

**Jutsu**

Chapter 5 First steps

It was a peaceful day in Konohagakure, the sun was shinning, the birds were singing. Yet one man didn't feel right, something was telling him to close his shop, his gut was screaming for him to go home and hold his family as what ever evil that was to plague the village would disappear. He was about to throw that way of thought away until he heard his door bell ring. His eyes grew as he saw the blond hair of a certain demon walk in.

" Hey! You are not allowed in here!" The now angry owner said making Naruto glare at him. The man rushed back in fear nearly wetting himself as he hit the wall.

_' This isn't right, he's suppose smile, walk out and go rot somewhere.' _The man thought with fear as the golden blond walked closer with confidence.

" I want everything you have based on the Mandarin Style of the fallen Jade Empire." Naruto said making the man's eyes to grow in disbelief.

" I don't have that here, and even if I did I wouldn't give it to you." The man said making Naruto's glare to intensify, his sudden blood lust was now making the man want to soil himself even more than before.

" Then you are useless to me." Naruto said as he placed his hands on the counter in a treathening way.

" Pray we do not meet in the streets." The golden blond said before leaving a terrified villager.

Naruto was brewing up a storm through out the village after a day of searching for the Mandarin's style.

_' This is insane, the Mandarin Style was used by an army of thousands centuries ago. Why can't I find a single scroll?'_Naruto thought to himself. Only to forget he would think out loud when at this level of rage.

" That's because the Mandarin Style is forbidden." A man said making the sapphire eyed teen to turn. Naruto had never seen the man before, he was heavily covered in bandages. He didn't trust him, mainly because he had not sense the old geezer.

" What fool came up with that idea?" Naruto said with annoyance.

" The first council of Kages, after a hidden group attempted to remake the Jade Empire." The man said making a smirk find its way to Naruto.

" The Jade Empire is nothing without the Mandarin and his rings." Naruto said with arrogance.

" So true, why is it that you of all people wish to posses the Mandarin style?" The man asked making Naruto's smirk to grow.

" The academy style is only for the academy. It might work against bandits, but its going to get me dead when I go up against Shinobi. I heard the legend of the Mandarin recently, I figured it was something I could look into." Naruto said making the man smirk.

" You don't fool me boy." The man said making Naruto's eyes to grow.

" I know what you hide under those bandages." The man said making Naruto's exposed arm go to his right arm. " I also know the pain of having a damaged limb, one so disturbing it kills you if others see it." The man said as Naruto looked at his arm.

" I was too old to adapt to the Mandarin Style but you shouldn't have a problem. Go to this place, they should be able to get you what you need and more. The Mandarin is something that the public fears. Always keep true to your Shinobi training and those fears will disappear." The man said making Naruto bow in gratitude after taking a note. The man soon left with a smile.

" I hope for your sake this information is correct old man." Naruto said with a whisper making Danzo to smirk.

_' The report is true, the boy has changed since the last attempt on his life. If things go well he will bring glory to the village.'_Danzo thought as he sensed Naruto walk away.

It had not taken long for the Master of Root to hear that Naruto had been harassing village merchants for the Mandarin based things he seeked. Danzo made sure the council or the Hokage didn't get word of this. He believe that Naruto carried great potential due to his greater burden. He found the leaders of his home fools for casting the boy away.

His disgust in the ignorant populace grew as he saw the village worship the son of the second greatest traitor the world could have seen. He wondered how his home could be so blind. The man hated the Hokage for preventing him from raising a great Shinobi. To make things worse the man had said that Danzo only saw Naruto as a weapon. Danzo was not a fool he knew more than he let on.

+-*/*-+

" I knew I would find you here." Ino said as Naruto was heading to the library.

" I'm returning what I borrowed." Naruto said as he carried the books with his left arm.

" Couldn't read them?" Ino said with a teasing tone.

" I'm done with them, what do you want?" Naruto said making Ino to smile.

"A dress." Ino said making Naruto to look at her with annoyance.

" You have nothing I need." Naruto said making Ino to turn. A smile slowly grew on her face.

_' I got you just where I want you.' _Ino thought as she let out a light giggle.

" Oh I don't about that. Remember how I told you my great grand father never found the rings?" Ino said making Naruto to look at her with his eyes full of thirst. Ino felt powerful, she liked having control over someone, especially this new Naruto.

" Seems I was wrong... well not technically." Ino said making Naruto confused.

" My great grandfather did know of the location of one ring." Ino said making Naruto's eyes to grow.

" Where tell me now!" The old Naruto would have yelled as he shook the platinum blond in front of him.

" Has the location changed?" Naruto asked making Ino to turn with her victory smile.

" Nope just looked into it this morning." Ino said with her smile as she handed Naruto a magazine.

" I'm guessing this is the dress you want." Naruto said as he held a fashion magazine.

" Exactly, there's only one left, but I blew my allowance and bonuses for the year. Get it for me." Ino said with pleading eyes as Naruto had a mental debate with himself.

" You have yet to fail me with the information you have given me before, so I will buy the dress... but, you won't get it until I see the ring. The Mandarin is quite unique." Naruto said as Ino was also finding the old legend useful. Though she wished she had more info to sell. Ino followed Naruto into the library before taking him to her favorite store. Ino wanted to hide as she saw Sakura in the store with their moms.

_' It's hard having a love rival when my mom is friends with Sakura's mom.' _Ino thought as she hid behind a rack of clothes.

" Hey mom there's the dress I want." Sakura said making Ino's heart to tighten up. ' She always has to copy me.' The platinum teen thought as she hide.

" I'm sorry dear, it's just too expensive, after a few missions you can buy whatever you want."Sakura's mom said making Ino to sigh in relief.

" Ino's been going on about that dress since she saw it in her magazine the other day." Ino's mom said making Ino embarrassed and Sakura mad.

" **I doubt that fat pig won't look as good in it as I would." **Inner Sakura said with pride.

" Mom that dress is the hottest thing ever, Ino will get Sasuke-kun before me if she wears that dress." Sakura said making the mother's laugh.

" **Yeah right, Sasuke-kun only loves me."**Inner Sakura said as she was wrapped in a seductive embrace by an imaginary Sasuke.

" You don't have to worry about that Sakura, she won't be getting that dress any time soon I can guarantee that." Ino's mom said making Sakura to smile as her daughter became depressed.

" What can I help you with sir?" A female worker said while feeling uncomfortable. Naruto never knew glaring was so beneficial. The whole day he had learn the value of scaring others.

" She wants that dress, and I want it on her as fast as possible." Naruto said making the woman to quickly nod her head. Many of the woman shopping turned to his direction, it seemed they also had their hearts set on the dress, thought the golden blond did not think for a second that they would look good in it.

" Naruto have you even seen the price on this?" Ino said making Naruto to look at her. She herself had yet to see the price she just wanted it because it looked good in the magazine.

" The dress isn't yours until I get what I want." Naruto said making Sakura and the other women to blush.

" How dare you take advantage of my daughter." Ino's mom said making Ino to look beat red. Before anyone in the room could react the protective mother had slapped Naruto.

" You are as foolish as your daughter." Naruto said as the hit left no mark on his face.

" How dare you?" The mother said with great rage.

" Your daughter contains something very important to me. Due to your poor parenting I can only unlock the information by buying her stuff. Other than that she is useless to me." Naruto said making the women to look at him with disbelief then rage.

" Naruto that's a really messed up thing to say even by your standards." Sakura said as she cracked her knuckles.

" **That's right you put that skinny whore down! Keep it up and I won't hit you for doing such a good job." **Inner Sakura said with a smile as she held a collar with a rabid Naruto trying to get to a scared Ino.

" Did I lie? Ino's obsession with Sasuke has her selling information from her self proclaimed quack ancestor. An obsession that a good mother would have put to rest. I advice you to back off before you make a scene." Naruto said with a cold tone, Ino's mother was going to hit Naruto again. The woman was surprised to see her husband hold her hand.

" Daddy." Ino said in shock as the man looked very upset. He had been siting in a chair with a few other men.

" That's enough dear... Uzumaki what information does my daughter have that is so important to you?" Inoichi said with a glare.

" Don't worry about it." Naruto said as the dress was handed to Ino in a box. Naruto paid for the dress and Ino handed him the documentation she had.

" You might be a fan girl Ino but I hope you have enough honor to be professional and keep you mouth shut." Naruto said as he walked out of the store.

Ino was red as her parents were glaring at her. The platinum blond tried to look as innocent as possible as her parents grew more with fury. Sakura on the other hand still wanted the dress and was cursing herself for not using her fanboy.

" **Shannaro! Naruto is my bitch! His money is only to be used on me!"**Inner Sakura screamed as she sat on a throne that Naruto happily carried while praising her as the greatest thing ever.

**Thank You for reading and I hope you enjoyed this installment. I was asked when I planned to kill off Sasuke, to be honest I have another plan for him one I hope all of you will enjoy.**


	6. Welcome to the Dark Side

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

**Jutsu**

Chapter 6 Welcome to the Dark Side

The village of Konoha, a proud and happy place, except when a certain blond haired Jinchuuriki would run chaos through out the Shinobi village. All of the villages knew he was evil given a human body, With his evil schemes, his evil hair style, his evil walk, his evil clothes, his evil smell. Heck even the way he read about the great museums of the world was evil. Many villagers had to take a second look at the golden blond. They couldn't believe the subject he was reading, in fact they couldn't believe he even knew how to read to begin with.

Uzumaki Naruto had an interesting week he had stopped a traitor from stealing a historical treasure, which he stole himself. Then learned he contained the strongest mass of chakra known to the world. Then was given a field promotion for using a high level jutsu he had spent many hours to learn. Getting chased away from the only Shinobi that saw him as human. Being left to burn in his own apartment. Learning that he possed the Mandarin's ring that had reacted to him and now gave him a wicked arm. Finally to being harassed by a certain flower growing Yamanaka for money.

The golden blond was walking on the main street as he read the magazine that he had to buy at a ridiculous rate from one Yamanaka Ino. Using his unbandaged arm to hold the magazine, as he read the article about the ancient ring which was considered a national treasure.

" So the Daimyo of Earth holds claim over the Ring of Earth... a bit simple minded if you ask me. It shouldn't be too hard to get my hands on it." Naruto said as he entered the dark part of the village. He could see prostitutes, shady dealers, bookies and some other dark things before looking for a certain bar.

_' Wow this place looks like crap and the people here are ready to stab each other in the back... I should probably move down here to lower the chances of getting attacked.' _The golden blond thought as he came to a stop.

" This place isn't for snot nosed brats." A man said as he stood in front of Naruto. The bouncers were clearly not shinobi but contained enough skill to defeat most civilians. Too bad for them the sun kissed blond had just been promoted from civilian.

The two guards watched in disbelief as thirty Narutos appeared out of thin air. The screaming men had soon been moved from the doorway. The real golden blond walked with a smirk as the two large men were forced to kneel before him as he made his way to the door and the last doorman.

" Remember my face." Naruto said as he slipped some money to the now smirking goon. The cigar smoke filled room soon grew silent as Naruto came in. He easily ignored the odd looks and whispers as he reached the bartender.

" What's your poison kid?" The one eyed man said as Naruto looked at him.

" Give me the dragon's blood and some alone time with Misty, I heard she's good." Naruto said making the man's single eye to grow.

" Sure thing, she'll be waiting at the last room to the right." The man said as he handed Naruto a glass with green liquid that was releasing a constant fog. He wondered what evil was in the drink. Naruto took the drink and headed towards the designated door, he opened it and went into the dark room.

The sound of a great struggle was heard once the thick door closed. The bartender and a few hidden employees in the crowd smiled.

The lights turned on and Naruto reappeared beaten and tied to a chair. A short red haired woman with some curves walked up to the blond. The large thugs moved from her path, she was a bit shocked such a small kid had caused so much damage to her men.

" I'm guessing you're Misty." The occupants of the room turned to the voice in disbelief, they were shocked to see the golden blond sit in the chair Misty had been in.

" How?" The red head asked with no sign of being caught off guard, even though she was.

" When I was handed this." Naruto said as he placed the unknown drink on the fancy oak desk. " I noticed the old cyclops messing with the bottom of his counter. Figured he was warning someone about me, so I sent a clone and used a simple henge to blend in when the fight started.

_' Shit! This is why I hate getting involved with Shinobi.'_ Misty thought as the tied up clone turned into a cloud of smoke.

" Before you turds try anything, I want you to know I have four clones outside ready to head to the tower... if I stop my sudden stream of chakra." Naruto said with a smile after seeing a few men reach for weapons.

" What do you want?" Misty said with a cold stare as she saw Naruto look completely carefree and in control.

" The question is. What do you want?" Naruto said as he slid the drink on the table. The red head slowly walked up to him and took the drink. Her eyes grew as she saw a small envelope under the drink.

" So he sent you." Misty said with a smirk as she finished reading the message, it was a large wad of cash from Danzo. She had recognized the kanji for root Danzo used on his wax seal, when he was serious. To the surprise of her guards, their boss motioned for them to leave.

She didn't like the fact that Naruto made so sign of planning to get off her chair.

" I was told that you could get me the Mandarin Style." Naruto said making the woman almost snort.

" Tch that old thing? Yeah I got it... somewhere." Misty said before snapping her finger making a nerdy looking worker to enter the room. She whispered to his ear and got some very quick nods from the man. The greasy haired man quickly left to get what she wanted. Naruto noticed that he came from a secret door leading underground, than the door the guards had used to leave.

" This place is secured, but I don't trust my men to all of my items, they are sealed and labeled with numbers that only I know how to work." Misty said with arrogance making Naruto to smirk.

" Your friend wants to take care of the bill for the scroll, but you don't seem like the type to owe debts. I'll give you the scroll if you do a job for me." The woman said as she tossed a scroll from the top of her desk to Naruto.

" All I want is confirmation, find a safe route to it and then I'll take care of the rest." Misty said with the smile most lawyers gave to their suckers, I mean clients.

" Let's see what happens first." Naruto said as he stood while reading the scroll. " I'll be back soon." Naruto said as he walked past the red head.

" I'll be waiting boy." Misty said with no sign that she had faith in the golden blond's abilities. Naruto couldn't wait to see her face when he came back.

+-*/*-+

" I hate you!" Yamanaka Ino yelled before running up stairs to her room. The last hours had been the worst of her life. Her parents had not only chewed her out for insulting her ancestor, but also for blackmailing Naruto when she should happily help him get to his feet. They had even gone as far as to question her about her sexual life with the golden blond, which had completely embarrassed her since she hadn't even had her first kiss much less perform the sexual acts her mom had said. She wondered what horrors her parents did when she wasn't around, no she took that back she didn't want to know. The final nail in the coffin was that her parents wanted her to return her new expensive name brand dress that Naruto had happily bought for her. They had even gone so far to say that if she didn't return it they were going to give it to Sakura.

_' It's not fair, this is my dress, why do I have to give it to billboard brow.' _Ino thought as she yelled into her pillow. It was already soaked with her tears in hopes that her crying would change her parents mind. Ino figured it didn't work an hour later when her parents hadn't come in with a change of heart.

_' Fine I'll take it back..'_ Ino thought before her conscious had finally convinced her that her parents were right.

" But not until after I'm done wearing it." Ino said before she quickly got out of her clothes to change.

" Careful dummy you almost removed the tag." Ino scolded herself before slowing down.

+-*/*-+

Naruto was sitting in the shadows of a house as he looked at the house that belonged to a council member.

'_ I don't sense anyone that could cause me trouble, or any traps. All that is left is my distraction, these village makes it too easy.'_ Naruto thought before signaling a clone to start. It transformed into Sasuke and went to a group of teenage girls. The fake heartthrob said a few words before the girls started to fight among themselves, though they had been great friends only a few moments ago.

Before long people began to rush outside of their homes to see what was going on. Naruto smirked as he saw an old man with a stick up his ass and his three spoiled sons run outside.

" What are you stupid hussies doing outside of my house?" The man yelled before flash bombs went off blinding the block. His clones rushed to find the room with the treasure. Naruto hurried and memorized as much as he could before leaving.

" Like I said _**Too**_ easy" Naruto said as he was in the safety of Konoha's red district. He had spent an hour collecting and sorting the data his clones gave him. The golden blond was a bit surprised to see Misty waiting for him in the public bar, but it went away when he noticed no customers in the building.

" What the hell was that about? I wanted you to be secretive about what you did, not announce it to the world! What kind of Shinobi are you?" Misty said with rage, Naruto ignored her as he approached with a smirk. He counted thirty armed goons, he wanted to laugh at their stupidity, for wanting to take on a guy that can make hundreds of copies of himself. He thanked Mizuki for teaching him how to never be out numbered.

" I was planning a prank on the councilman's son a while back. They will be so busy looking for me that you can practicably walk in through the front door. This will tell you how to do it right." Naruto said before exposing a simple scroll.

" My little stunt has give you more than one way in and out." Naruto said as Misty tried to take the scroll.

" Patience." Naruto said as he got the scroll out of her reach. Misty snapped her fingers and a man brought a large scroll.

" As promised the Mandarin Style and all of its Dark Glory. Containing all six ring stances, you won't find a better copy." The woman said as Naruto gave her the scroll. Misty turned and prepared to leave to her office.

" I want to buy you a drink to celebrate." Naruto said making the red head turn to look at him.

" To celebrate our friendship." Naruto said making Misty nod her head.

" What's so important that a kid like you will continue to associated with _**us**_?" Misty asked as Naruto slide her the drink he had bought. They had traveled in silence and she quickly rushed to sit in _HER_ chair. She didn't know why but she had the gut feeling Naruto was going to take it.

" What do you mean?" Naruto said making the read head laugh.

" Don't play dumb, I know who you are. Word of your dream has probably already reached Iwa by now." Misty said making the golden blond to smirk as he sat in the chair in front of her.

" In case you haven't noticed, but this isn't the place a future Kage will hang at... much less a respectable Shinobi of Konohagakure." Misty said making Naruto's smirk show no change.

" I do things my way, to be the greatest Hokage I'm going to do things differently." Naruto said making Misty smile.

" I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." The red head said making Naruto's smirk to grow.

" It's going to take more than this, for me to consider you a friend. You can start by finding me these three rings." Naruto said as he handed a paper to Misty.

" What's so important about these rings?"

" They belonged to the Mandarin, it would help improve the image I wish to create. If I can use his style while wearing his rings..." Naruto said as a dark air came from his body making Misty make sure not to get on his wrong side.

" Oh and any new information on the Mandarin you can obtain will help me... I'll make sure to compensate you and your men." Naruto said before giving her a light head bow. He soon left after he finished his words, the red head hadn't relaxed until he was reported gone from the bar.

" Kyuubi's chakra and the Mandarin's rings, if Danzo plans to help this kid its because he knows something." Misty said as she looked at the image of three rings with three symbols.

" Two men hungry for the title of Hokage, which one will I help?" The red head said to herself as she took in the things Naruto said and uncovered in the council member's house.

+-*/*-+

" What are you doing here?" Naruto said with annoyance as Ino was breathing hard. She had been running all over the village hoping to find him. She had also been left to knock on his door for five minutes as she clearly saw Naruto on a bed. The new motel he was in had windows to see the outside. Naruto allowed her to scream and pound on the door long enough before the management was called for her making a scene.

" Why didn't you open for me?" Ino said as she stared down the golden blond. She let out a sigh as she brought the bag with her dress to him, Her body was shaking while fighting the urge to not return the dress.

" My dad wants you to have this and for me to return this." Ino said as she offered the bag to Naruto. He saw a familiar box and a storage scroll.

" I'm guessing that's the Mandarin's information from your quack relative. That one must be the dress then." Naruto said making Ino nod her head, he could see the regret in her eyes.

" The dress is yours, where you keep it is up to you." Naruto said making Ino look at him in shock.

" Don't do this to me Naruto, my dad said not to come home until you took the dress back." Ino said as Naruto went to close the large scroll he had been reading before Ino got too curious. If she wasn't so devastated about returning the dress she would had already nagged him about the ancient scroll.

_' Memo to self, bitch to Naruto later about that old scroll.' _Ino thought as the golden blond turned to look at her.

" That dress is useless to me, I don't practice cross dressing and it was fitted for you, even if I wanted to I couldn't give it to Sakura. Finally that store you picked is for women only, with a store credit policy might I add." Naruto said making Ino feel terrible.

" Keep it in your house, or throw it in the trash... I don't care." Naruto said as he cut Ino off before she could apologize for taking advantage of him.

_' Why are you being like this? Why can't I apologize to you?' _Ino thought as her heart filled with pain at the cold and harsh tone Naruto used.

" I need to take a shower, I would prefer if you would leave." Naruto said as he got a change of clothes from a bag.

_' Naruto was never this mean to me, even when he left me to hang at the library, atleast then he still had his smirk. So why is he being so... so cruel... its almost like I don't know him... Wait, what was it that Daddy always used to say? But there's no way Naruto could...'_ Ino thought as she looked at the golden blond.

" What are you waiting for? You some kind of reverse pervert?" Naruto said as Ino swallowed her spit to talk.

_' Here goes nothing.' _Ino thought as she looked into Naruto eyes to see if she was making a mistake.

" Since you don't care what I do with it, can I leave it in your dresser?" Ino said making Naruto to turn from her and head to the bathroom. The platinum blond was sweating bullets as she awaited Naruto to insult her after placing his towel on his shoulder.

" I don't care what you do, but this isn't my home." Naruto said making Ino to give him an honest smile.

" I know so until you get a new home, kept it in the bag, then leave some place in your house for it... please." Ino said making the golden blond to smirk, which brought her a blush and some relief.

" Whatever, but you owe me Yamanaka." Naruto said before Ino left with a skip to the door.

" I'll let you take me out on a date." Ino said with a teasing tone as she tried to look as cute and sexy as possible.

" I was hopping for something with real value." Naruto said making Ino pout before sticking her tongue at him and slamming the door.

" Took that air head long enough, and people call me slow." Naruto said as he went to relax a bit.

+-*/*-+

_' Is that really Naruto?' _The newest group of Konoha Shinobi thought as they saw the golden blond walk in. Even though they had heard about the attack on his body, they couldn't believe the radical changes that happened to him. At first glance one could see his physical changes. Long gone was his eye catching orange and blue jumper. Now replaced by an almost all black outfit. The most noticeable change, which had been the thing to catch Ino's attention, was the fact that he no longer carried his famous smile. Naruto walked with a new attitude as a new person, he considered himself reborn from the fires the village used on him. His now free golden hair and the face, that was allowed to relax from all of its forced smiling, made him look more mature. The world famous mark of a Konoha Shinobi was tightly wrapped around his right bicep.

Though many girls would not admit it they got a bit excited at seeing Naruto. Needless to say one Hyuuga Hinata was pushed over the edge by her ridiculous feelings for the blond and now laid in a puddle of her own blood.

_' Hmm Naruto-kun.'_ the young and often questioned heir thought as she fell to her world of bliss.

_' No longer, will you fools look down on me. I'm not the stupid boy you idiots knew.'_ Uzumaki Naruto thought as he sat down in his old seat. Due to the acts of Mizuki's lover the students had been given an additional three weeks of vacation than the normal one. The Hokage had wanted the sun kiss blond to relax and get used to his injuries, Naruto instead had spent everyday of that time off working to master the Mandarin style. Something he knew wasn't going to happen with the little bit of time he had. Due to his die hard attitude and spartan like training he was now able to get into his stances and practices his katas, without looking at the scroll to see if he did something wrong. His body still ached from the body training he had to do, often using clones to act like drill instructors.

He heard his long time rival curse when the sound of running and a cat fight came to the room. Naruto didn't need to turn his head to know who had just come in.

" I win!" Ino and Sakura yelled as one.

" No I did."

" Stop copying everything I say."

" No you'er copying me."

" Stupid pig."

" Pink haired bitch." Ino paused and looked at Sakura as the girl was completely caught off guard. The platinum blond didn't mean to have taken their argument so far.

" What are you smirking at Dobe? Aren't you Sakura's Guardian? She'll start crying if you don't protect her. That girl is useless without you to hold her hand." The raven haired prodigy said as Naruto looked at him with the corner of his eyes.

" Fuck off." Naruto said making the class shocked. Reason One was that they also expected Naruto to come flying to Sakura's rescue. Reason two was they were waiting for the fight to come since Sasuke had insulted Naruto's crush.

" **Sasuke-kun... why are you doing this to me? Don't you know I love you? You are everything to me, why won't you acknowledge me? Don't my feelings matter to you? Don't you care how your words cut me worse than any Kunai can ever hope to dream?" **Inner Sakura said as her outer person was too heart broken to do anything. Sakura did look ready to cry, Ino was feeling really terrible since not that long ago they were best friends. The moist emerald green eyes were staring at her love with all the pain of the world. They cleared up when she saw the familiar sun kissed hair.

" **Shannaro! Naruto you stupid useless turd! Why aren't you ripping Ino's head off? I am your queen... no I am your goddess! You're suppose to throw your life away to protect me! I give your pitiful existence a reason to live! Now come her and be a good loyal slave and make me feel better!"** Inner Sakura yelled as she brought out a key that was hidden between her growing breast. She made her way to a large cage where Naruto was standing ever ready to do her bidding.

" **Come here Naruto, my precious fool. Your master has been hurt by that blond haired slut and Sasuke-kun needs to be reminded on how great I am. Fill you master's ear with the great praise that only you can sing."** Inner Sakura said as she unlocked the cage. She stepped to the side and saw the newer Naruto break through like a savage beast, the same beast Sakura had been told all her life that Naruto is.

Though the bubble gum haired teen loved the raven hair heartthrob, it still made her feel better when Naruto would savagely attack him for hurting her. She would get to see Sasuke work up a sweat and it felt nice that Naruto was willing to draw blood for her. She figured he would probably kill for her if she asked him with a smile.

" Well?" Sakura said after Inner Sakura got frustrated at the fact nothing was happening. The golden blond sat quietly which brought shock to the students. It didn't take long for Sakura to lose her patience with the sun kissed blond.

"Naruto." The room got real quiet from the awkward feelings filling the room. Sakura and Ino had made their way near Naruto, Sakura to get her pet to do something and Ino to see how the golden blond had been.

+-*/*-+

As all of this was happening, Naruto's mind was going over the odd event involving a certain boy. One he had ran into again earlier in the morning. That boy greatly reminded him of his old foolish self. He hated that.

Naruto had meet the honored grandson as he turned in his Shinobi Registration. The Hokage had praised him for doing a good job. Naruto didn't know his instincts had improved so much from his training, but they did, which is why they kicked in when the screen door was opened.

While a weak wave of killing intent was directed towards the Hokage, Naruto threw a few of his new Kunai pinning, to his surprise, a small boy. The child hadn't been allowed to make his Hokage rant and now a Shinobi had attacked him. The Hokage had explained the situation before his grandson could cry, though he was left pinned to the wall during the explanation. Both were surprised to see the kunai instantly make its way back to Naruto.

_' He used Ninja wire to call them back? How long has he been able to use it with such skill?'_ The Hokage and his advisors thought along with the Jounin instructor of the honored grandson. Naruto was never allowed to carry many weapons on him, since they where so expensive. Getting tired of going after them, Naruto would always have five kunai and shuriken attached with ninja wire. To make it easier to find and collected them. He stopped using the wire openly since Sasuke had copied him. Unknown to the golden blond, his manipulation of projectiles with ninja wire rivaled a certain chocolate eyed girl with an obsession for all things pointy. A level of skill Sasuke didn't care to obtain.

Naruto then silently walked past the boy that had started to glare at him. The golden blond had been annoyed for hours as Konohamaru followed his every move. Saying he wanted to become his subordinate, Naruto smirked at those words. He knew what jutsu would be best for the small knucklehead. Their training hadn't been allowed to get far before being interrupted by the glasses wearing Jounin. Naruto was disappointed at himself, but hitting the private instructor with a sea of naked girls was fun. Though he promised himself never to use such a technique again.

+-*/*-+

" What's wrong with your face?" Ino said as the golden blond had ignored Sakura's glare and harsh words.

" What about it?" Naruto said making Ino smirk in a playful way.

" I don't know what you were thinking, but it made you ugly." Ino said making the class laugh, Sakura was still planning ways to hurt her disobedient fan boy.

" **We're going to need whips, chains, wax, a very secluded spot so that no one can hear him scream through out the night... and if he survives... we might have to try the same thing with Sasuke-kun... but in a more romantic way."** Inner Sakura said making her outer persona blush, no one had seen it but Sasuke had felt a cold feeling run down his spine.

_' Naruto-kun isn't ugly he is very handsome and right now he's he's oh god he is so hot. I want him to to to ravish me. Oh god.' _Hinata thought with a glare before loosing herself to her mature imagination.

" I was picturing you in that dress you made me buy. It made your butt look big and not in the good way." Naruto said making Ino blush and the class to laugh.

" **That's my boy. I knew you wouldn't betray me. Next time you ask me on a date I'll let you buy me something expensive, that should make you happy for a long time." **Inner Sakura said as she petted an image of Naruto on the head.

Before Ino and Sakura could react Naruto stood and forced the platinum blond to sit in the only seat next to him. The strongest and loudest fan girls of the planet were left dumbstruck because of what happened. It didn't take long for Ino to notice she was next to Sasuke-kun.

Naruto sat down and began to read a new book he had gotten at the library. Sakura on the other hand was still processing what had happened. Ino decided to get Naruto back for treating her so roughly, but she was grateful for what he did for her. Normally Naruto would give in to Sakura's bitching and allow her to sit next to Sasuke.

Sakura stormed off as she saw Ino making sure she knew she wasn't going to get up.

" **How dare you do this to me Naruto? I won't ever forgive you. I'll make you spend the rest of your life pleasing me before I even consider forgiving you."** Inner Sakura said before her mind flashed with the thought of Naruto starting to get intimate with her.

_' Does my master likes it when her fox does this?' _The golden blond said as she sat on his lap, without his shirt on. They where in a bed in the most expensive hotel in fire country. The same one she planned to use while losing her virginity to Sasuke. The golden blond was kissing her neck and ever so gently bitting her, his hands running all over her body. Suddenly one snaked its way down her side, running its fingers on her stomach before entering...

_**' Yes you stupid bitch now get back to work!' **_Inner Sakura moaned before the ourter persona shook her head. The last thing Sakura had saw was her pushing Naruto and suddenly grabbing Naruto's head and forcing it to the lower half of her body.

'_ Where the hell did that come from?' _Sakura thought before she sat down and noticed something that had never happened before finally happened. She had gotten excited from one of her fantasy, while not doing nothing more but fantasying, not even her thoughts of her precious Sasuke-kun had caused that.

Iruka came in and flinched when he saw Naruto. If Iruka had not accidentally driven Naruto away, the blond wouldn't have been caught in the fire. The Chuunin blamed himself for any wounds on the young blond.

" Naruto your hand." Iruka said with bulging eyes and pain in his voice.

" An inconvenience caused by the fire." Naruto said as the bandaged limb hanged on his right side. The blond had learned people were nicer and underestimate him because of the fake injured limb. His long sleeve had been caught by his seat makingn the bandaged hand to show to the class. A few gasped since they hadn't thought he had been badly hurt. Some wondered if he could even use it.

" Oye I don't like people staring at it." Naruto said making Iruka to cough.

The man was once again blaming himself, swearing to do something to pay Naruto back for the treachery his two friends did.

" Right." Iruka said before starting to tell the class that they were one step closer to reaching their dreams.

'_ What kind of teacher allows his best friends to bring so much harm to his student?' _Iruka thought with great pain.

_' Stupid Dobe you'll be nothing more but a liability to the village.' _Sasuke thought with arrogance.

_' Poor Naruto, I wonder if he is pain?'_ Ino thought as she remembered the way he looked when he stood in his burned down home. Almost like a kicked puppy.

_' Don't worry Naruto-kun, I'm going to become strong and when I'm heir you'll have all the money in the world, so you won't have to worry about working. With my political power you'll become Hokage... I promise... all I want in return is for you to to to love me.' _Hinata thought before a light moan escaped her lips.

_' And and and give me twenty babies.' _Hinata thought before another moan was heard but this one overshadowed by the sound of her head hitting the floor.

" **Stupid Naruto! How dare you get hurt? Your suppose to work for me! You can't please me if you're broken! Why the hell are you so damn useless!"** Inner Sakura yelled as she beat a whimpering Naruto with a whip.

_' That's right fools think what you want, but you and this cursed village won't ever be able to touch me again.' _Naruto thought as his left arm went over his right and rubbed the edge of his new ring.

+-*/*-+

**Thank you for reading I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry it took me a while to post but had problems with my internet. I ask all of you to be patient with me for it won't be long for you to see what I have planned for our favorite Jinchuuriki. The pairings are decided yet but I am running my head through a few scenarios please be patient.**


	7. Enter Kakashi

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

**Jutsu**

Chapter 7 Enter Kakashi

The village of Konohagakure was a place full of pride. Many of the young destined to protect them had just finished graduating. They were all together learning about who they were going to grow strong with. They all carried pride and joy about the fact they were one step closer to their dream. All but two certain blonds. One was upset at the fact she couldn't be with her true love and the male blond just didn't like who he was with.

Naruto didn't like his team, however he knew nothing was going to change it. He also didn't feel like complaining, if he had time to whine then he could be training. So in the end that's what he did during his lunch break. He ate twenty rice balls in five minutes, a task almost impossible except to the Akimichi clan, and went to a nearby training ground. During the break after graduation he had located all of the training grounds in the village that meet the requirements of his Mandarin scroll.

The golden blond had started on preparing his body for the strikes his style did. Naruto was the last one to enter his class when lunch was over. Iruka was upset that Team Seven showed no sign of willing teamwork. He hoped the Jounin Instructor could change that. Naruto went back to reading his book while his team waited to be called.

Sasuke was busy plotting ways to torture his brother for the horrors he did to him. He was already thinking what he wanted his new instructor to teach him.

Sakura on the other hand was happily looking at her crush with dreamy eyes. Hoping to have the last Uchiha fall in love with her beauty. She sighed after two hours when nothing happened.

" **Doesn't Sasuke-kun love me? Why is he like this? Maybe he doesn't know about the birds and the bees? That's it, it's the only logical reason on why he doesn't react to my natural beauty. There is only one way to test this."** Inner Sakura said before her body turned from her beloved Uchiha.

" What do you want Sakura-chan?" Naruto said with a bored tone, even though he was reading, something told him she was looking at him. He couldn't understand why he was getting the sudden urge to jump up and down. He was a new man after all, the Hiate around his bicep said so.

" **I knew it. There is no way in hell a guy isn't turned on by me. I'm so sexy it's almost a sin. Now then you pale skin Adonis submit to my beauty."** Inner Sakura said with a smile before her outer personal went back to trying to seduce Sasuke. Leaving Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

_' What did I see in her?' _Naruto thought before sigh and going back to his reading.

+-*/\*-+

The Hokage was sitting in the room with the council in charge of helping him decide what was best for his home. They were going to go over the teams he had come up with.

" Why is that monster with Uchiha-sama and my daughter?" A pink haired woman said with rage.

" It was the only way to balance out the teams. No matter how much we dislike it, Sasuke works best around Naruto." Koharu said making the civilians look at her.

" After going over the school records, we noticed that immediately after the day Naruto beat Sasuke in a subject, it would push our last Uchiha to train harder." The Hokage said making many in the room shocked.

" Isn't Uzumaki-san the dead last?" Shibi asked making everyone agree with him.

" In things involving the academy he is." Danzo said making the room look at him.

"We can not deny the fact that the boy is more advanced in more Shinobi required skills. He may not have the proper knowledge of our village's history, or the chakra control needed for simple jutsus. However have you all already forgotten that the boy has accomplished an act that could have brought our village to its knees. Many times we have caught our enemies going after the forbidden scroll. It was the reason we left it with the Hokage, because he was strongest available to protect it. Not only did Naruto slipped through high level traps and Shinobi, but somehow our leader wasn't able to find him." Danzo said making the Hokage sweat. The man had not informed the village that he was knocked out by Naruto using his perverted nature agaisnt him.

" Stealing the Forbidden Scroll is an amazing act by itself, a task that no other Shinobi could brag about. To make it even more amazing, the boy had even gone and learned one of the Kinjutsus in less than a day. The chakra flowing through his body must be monstrous, if he was able to learn such a draining technique so fast and still cripple a Chuunin. It seems I was right all along. That boy has a great potential and you fools have almost cost us to lose it." Danzo said making the council upset.

" How is it our fault?" A man with glasses said making the bandaged war hero to look at him.

" Out of all here your fault is greater than any other besides the Hokage." Danzo said making his old friend upset.

" How dare you try to blame this on me?" The man said with rage.

" You are in charge of the academy, why is it that your instructors never noticed Naruto's chakra capacity? During his stay in the hospital I had a nurse check his reserves... do you want to know what I found?" Danzo said with a mocking tone.

" Stop being so troublesome and just say it." Shikaku said with a bored tone.

" Naruto's chakra is at a level she had never seen before. The only person that comes close to Naruto's chakra is Jiraiya." The man said making the room shocked.

" The pathetic chakra control and jutsus available in the academy are useless to someone with so much chakra. Especially when they have never had proper training. Naruto's chakra is so large that more than likely he overpowered his jutsus, and I can assume that the instructors told him that he wasn't trying hard enough. A boy with no guidance will assume that meant he needed to pump more chakra into his technique, which resulted in his poor results. The academy had him doing something that was physically impossible for him. They wanted him to pass Chouza size chakra through a straw." Danzo said making the Akimichi head upset.

" You're right that the academy should have corrected this mistake, but isn't some of the blame on Naruto?" Tsume asked.

" How can it? The boy never received proper training. Compared to the other children's chakra what he releases is nothing to him." Danzo said with a bored tone.

" Explain?" A civilian asked.

" A Shinobi has more strength, defense and stamina depending on his chakra. As we train our physical energy improves our bodies. Other than Naruto, a young child with no real training, can you think of another person that can outrun Shinobi for so long?" Danzo asked making the council think.

" Gai more than likely." Inoichi said making a few shiver in disgust.

"My point exactly, Maito Gai is the only Shinobi in the village with a ridiculous amount of stamina, but that is only because of all the inhuman training he practices. How is it that Naruto, a boy not even half his age can compete with him? How can a dead last out run, and out last Shinobi that have killed before? How can a boy contain so much energy that he can create hundreds of physical clones without dying?" Danzo said making the council quiet.

" It's because of Kyuubi." A civilian council man said with rage.

" Yes, it is Kyuubi that has given Naruto chakra, strength and reflexes a Shinobi must take years to develop. Have any of you ever wonder why the boy always seems to be one step behind Sasuke in power?" Danzo said making the council confused.

" I believe that the reason Minato, our greatest Hokage ever, wanted us to see Naruto as a hero was because he wanted Naruto to protect our village." Danzo said making the council shocked, except the Hokage since it's what he had been saying for years.

" Chakra as we all know is the life stream for Shinobi. Our bodies need chakra, it feeds on it, as long as it flows in our body we can fight. Naruto, because of Kyuubi's seal, has so much chakra in him, that he doesn't know what to do with it. Which is why I feel that his large supply of chakra changed him." Danzo said making the room grow silent.

" I knew it! He is a demon, we should kill him now that we got the chance!" A civilian said before ANBU dragged him away.

" He is not a demon, he's body is just better than ours. His chakra coils is at a level we can only dream off and will only get bigger. His muscles are gaining strength from containing all of his power. With no outlet his body destroys itself. It wouldn't surprise me if he has secretly suffered through a chakra overload and heavily damaged his body." Danzo said making the room fill with shock.

" If that is true then why is it that he doesn't spend every other week in the hospital? " The female advisor of the Hokage asked.

" Because of the nature of medical chakra." Danzo said making the Shinobi pay more attention. They were now extremely intrigued in what the man had to say.

" When a medic heals with chakra they are manipulating their patients chakra into stimulating the body to repair itself. When Naruto is hurt, his body is so full of chakra that it devours it to regenerate the damage it sustained. The boy is walking around while using an advanced, powerful and very efficient medical jutsu without even knowing it." Danzo said shocking the people in the room.

" Are you sure about this? I mean what your saying almost sounds like..." Inoichi said getting a nod from the one eyed man.

" Yes, we can characterize and label Naruto and his body as a bloodline to make things simple. It won't surprise me to see his children do the same, since the genes and biological knowledge of a parent will pass to their children. Those born with his blood will have a chakra level higher than normal. No where near his power, but it won't surprise me if they can reach it with ease. All humans heal themselves naturally with chakra, but future members of the Uzumaki clan will more than likely do it at a speed that is clearly inhuman." Danzo said making those in the room take in his words.

" The seal placed on Naruto by the Yondaime changed our Jinchuuriki. I believe that it not only contains the demon fox, but it is killing the fox by making Naruto devour it." Danzo said shocking the room.

" As Kyuubi gets weaker, Naruto will grow stronger, everyday he becomes greater than the day before not by much but enough for it to make a difference. The human body is an amazing thing, it's why the things that can't kill us only makes us stronger. We lose one of our main senses and it strengths the others to regain what we lost. When we destroy it by training it not only heals the damage but makes us better than before. When we drain our chakra it makes more than what we had, growing our coils in the process. Naruto does all of this, but at a speed we can't compete with. Imagine being stuck during a war, having to fight an opponent, One that every time you hurt he comes back for more. One that not only is becoming used to your attacks, but its taking more and more everyday to drive him away. Not only are they getting stronger before your eyes, but you will get weaker because you won't be able to compete with his body. Whether we like it or not Naruto was made for war. The longer he draws out a battle the easier it will be for him to win." Danzo said shocking the council. None of its members would like to fight somebody that Danzo described.

" That's impossible, there is no way he, no that thing can do that." A pink haired woman said making Danzo look at her.

" When I visited the boy and ran a few harmless test... I'll give you the documentation later." Danzo said to the Hokage before the man could get too upset. " I had placed a certain seal in the room. The seal that the Shodaime made for when a Jinchuuriki was to be treated. It prevents them from tapping into their tenants. I was shocked to find that all of Naruto's chakra, all of the strength he is showing is his alone. The boy has no connection to the seal besides it giving him a bit more chakra everyday. Even with the removal of Yokai his body still, no worked at a more amazing rate than before. Kyuubi's chakra is actually making things worse for Naruto." Danzo said shocking the council.

" How is that possible?" Shikaku asked.

" You have two chakra sources that was never meant to coexist fighting for supremacy. Naruto's body is so busy driving the Yokai away that his control is almost none existent. If we add him new filters, and stronger chakra storage seals I feel Naruto's strength will grow at an alarming rate." Danzo said making the council room fill with silence.

" I will talk to Naruto and see what he has to say about this. Even though it is to his benefit I do not plan to do things without his approval." The Hokage said making the room agree with him.

" How can we prove that Danzo is right?" Chouza asked.

" Kakashi's exam. If Naruto does not have the abilities I said then he won't last long agaisnt a Jounin. His body would be too weak to be of use in battle. If I am right then let's just say two certain Sharingan users will have quite the surprise." Danzo said with a smile that made the room uncomfortable.

_' Kyuubi's Chakra and the Mandarin style, with the proper training Naruto will be the natural enemy of Doujutsu users. Which is why I need him to serve me.'_ Danzo thought as the council went over the other teams.

+-*/\*-+

Naruto closed his book in frustration, he had better things to do than read all day. Though there was a tiny voice in his head trying to get him to stay longer with Sakura. It grew annoy as it screamed nonsense about proving his love to the large fore headed Kunochi He crushed it with all his mental might and tossed it to wherever Kyuubi was locked up. A grin of satisfaction grew when he heard a vicious creature tear the voice apart.

Finally the door opened to reveal a Jounin with gravity defying hair. The young blond had an odd feeling that was telling him he knew the man. The only person that fit the description of the one eyed mask user was a certain ANBU Captain, that would always arrive a bit late when villagers gave him problems. He put those thoughts to side as the man measured his new charges.

" Meet me on the roof." The man said before disappearing.

_' That was either Shushin or a Bunshin, it doesn't matter, the council wouldn't use a weak nin to train duck butt.' _Naruto thought as he quietly left with his team.

" I'm glad to see you made it on time." The Jounin said as his team sat across him. As Kakashi was putting away his favorite literature he couldn't help but look over his team, wondering what they were thinking. He could tell they were annoyed, the one thing he was waiting for.

" Now before we start doing anything as a team there is a small exercise for us to do. It should be easy for fresh genin like you. I want you to introduce yourselves to the team." The Jounin said with a calm tone.

" Uzumaki Naruto... any villager should be able to tell you who I am." The golden blond said before opening a second book to read.

" **Naruto no Baka! How dare you cut me off? You can forget about buying me clothes. That should teach you to wait for your goddess to talk. You Inconsiderate Bastard."** Inner Sakura said with a smug face as she was standing in a torture chamber as Naruto hanged from chains. They were cutting into his wrist showing he had been there for a while. His body was bruised from the punishment his self labeled master gave him.

As Inner Sakura got off on her fantasy her words finally reached her, making her want to take back her last comment. How could she make Naruto not buy her things, it would make him buy things for Ino and she didn't want that. Naruto belonged to her, everyone knew, it was his job to do everything for her.

" **You fucking bitch! Bring back my dog!"** Inner Sakura yelled as Ino appeared in the torture chamber after an explosion. The platinum blond freed Naruto and he ran after her while on all fours. Ino laughing at Inner Sakura the whole time as she listed off the things Naruto would buy for her.

" You don't have to to raise your hand for a turn." The one eyed Jounin said making Sakura blush. The outer persona had been caught off guard, she had naturally viewed everything her inner self imagined. She wondered what caused her to become so sadistic.

" Sensei, I wanted to know how you wanted us to introduce ourselves." Sakura said before the silver haired Jounin closed his eyes to think. The two males students clearly showing no sign of caring about the man's words. One was brooding about his pain and the others was using his sudden obsession for all things Mandarin to cut off the world.

" I guess your names, likes, dislikes and dreams should be enough for now." The Jounin said making Sakura nod her head.

" I believe it's your turn."The man said as he pointed at the pink haired teen. She took a few minutes screeching about her obsession over Sasuke.

" I hate Naruto." Sakura said while taking half a second to look at the golden blond.

" That's good to know." Naruto said with an indifferent tone.

" What? You're not suppose to say that? You're suppose to cry your heart out and beg me to love you! What kind of fan boy are you? Love me you stupid idiot!" Inner Sakura yelled as she dragged Naruto from a smiling Ino.

Kakashi wasn't liking what he was seeing with his teen. He expected much from them, mainly because of the tittles the academy gave them. Though he had another reason to expect great things from Naruto. He just hoped the academy made a mistake and Naruto wasn't the dead last they had labeled him. Depending on Naruto's dedication, Kakashi would determine how much training he deserved.

" You're the last one." Kakashi said while looking at the Rookie of the year.

" My name is Uchiha Sasuke... there's hardly anything I like. I hate almost everything... especially fan girls." Sasuke said before glaring at Sakura. " My ambition is to kill a certain man and revive my clan." Sasuke said making a dark chuckle flow out of Naruto.

" There's a flaw with your ambition." Naruto said making Sasuke glare at him. " To revive a clan you need off springs. I'm sure there is a lot willing girls to give you heirs." Naruto said as Sasuke saw Sakura nod her head too fast for him see. Kakashi feared her neck would snap making her head fly off.

" **You tell him Naruto! He needs me to give him babies!"** Inner Sakura said as she drooled and moved her hands in a graby grab way. Already imagining how she was going to ravish Sasuke's perfect body. Though lately there was something making it seem less and less perfect. Sakura did a mental shake before returning to her fantasy of raping the last Uchiha. In her mind that would be the ultimate way to prove her love, after all it was how Sasuke wanted it. Why else would he continue to ignore his fan girls except to see who was truly dedicated to him. He wanted to know who was willing to do anything to reach his heart.

" However they will be fan girls, there is no way you can escape that fate." Naruto said making Sasuke's eyes to grow in disbelief as Kakashi chuckled.

" Look at the bright side... when you bed them... there's a high chance they will be screamers." Naruto said making Sasuke pale. The thought of his future wife screeching his name during intercourse scared him. He felt a shiver run up his spine as Sakura placed a hand on his lap. Too close to his growing manhood.

" Do you want babies now or later? Sasuke-kun." Sakura said with a seductive tone making the clan prodigy scurry back with fear. All of his shinobi skills instantly left his head as the pink haired Kunochi looked ready to pounce him.

" **There's is no escape, I'm going to make you into a man Sasuke-kun!" **Inner Sakura yelled as her body was crawling on top of Sasuke.

" You won't be able to have his kid Sakura-chan." Naruto said making Sakura glare at him.

**" Why not?" **Inner Sakura said through Sakura making Naruto smile. Her eyes filled with a murderous glare for the one that interrupted her fun.

" The longest tradition in the Uchiha clan is that their mate must be able to make them bleed. That means you have to impress Sasuke during a spar. The only one in the academy able to hit him was me. And I don't plan to defy the laws of nature to help him with his ambitions." Naruto said making Sasuke smirk, though he hated Naruto for hinting at him liking men. The lone Uchiha had completely forgotten about that special requirement of his people. It was why his older brother never dated, no one had been able to touch him.

" He's right, my mom was the strongest Kunochi in the clan before she married my dad. No fan girl will ever be able to reach her level of power." Sasuke said with excitement, clearly ignoring the pain that ran through Sakura. Both Emotional and physical. Emotional from being rejected and insulted by Sasuke, physical since he literally threw her off him.

Kakashi on the other hand couldn't believe how things had suddenly changed with his team. The golden blond made the brooding prodigy look more human and the pink haired harpy looked to take being a Kunochi more seriously, of course she was doing it for the wrong reasons.

" Before we leave here are a few things I want you to go over for tomorrow." Kakashi said as he handed the genin slips of paper. " I advice you to not eat breakfast, unless you like throwing up." Kakashi said with his eye smile before leaving with a swirl of leaves.

" Oye Teme what does it say?" Naruto said making Sakura screech about what he called her precious Sasuke-kun. Her teammates easily ignored her, their ears had adjusted long ago to the high level of pain her voice could cause.

" We have to meet at training ground seven near the memorial stone. Pack the necessary gear for a rogue hunt. Can't you read Dobe?" Sasuke said making Sakura smirk.

" I never had anyone willing to teach me kanji... thanks for the info." Naruto said before leaping off the roof making his teammates fill with shock. He landed with a squat, a light tingling feeling shooting through his body.

" I can't gather the chakra to my feet fast enough. I still have much to learn." Naruto said before going to find an apartment.

" **Holy Shit...he like totally survived that." **Inner Sakura said making Sasuke agree with her. Outer Sakura had temporarily fainted when she heard Naruto land. Thinking the golden blond had finally killed himself for her ignoring him.

Sasuke quickly left his most obsessive fan girl behind before she remembered they were all alone. He cursed himself when he heard her calling for him once he reached the stairs. He ran as fast as he could but with the fear in his heart and soul made him no better than a civilian. He had to remind himself not to fall down, last time it happened... he shuddered from the memory of the incident. He remembered to thank the ANBU once more for saving him and his chastity.

_' Why can't she have awesome ninjas skill when she isn't trying to rape me.' _Sasuke thought as he worked his hardest to escape from the pink haired Kunochi. Unknown to the world it wasn't secret jutsus and special training that made him better. It was fighting off his legion of fan girls. Every other week a few would lose control and hunt him down to rape him. He couldn't' figure out another reason on why they would throw themselves at him while ripping off his clothes. His brother's torture was nothing compared to a horde of screaming and horny fan girls.

+-*/\*-+

Naruto had found an apartment to his like a few hours later. To make things even better it was a complex made for Shinobi and run by Shinobi. They couldn't legally reject him renting a room.

He also liked it because now those ignorants civilians wouldn't try to trash his place. Though he wasn't going to spend all of his money with blind hope. He promised himself to buy his own home long ago, rather than spoiling himself he would only buy the basic necessities. The rest of his money was needed for the future. After a bit of shopping and a quick exchange of bills, he was filling his new apartment with furniture. Now all that was left was getting the things he needed for the next day.

The golden blond ignored the Genin team in the Shinobi store he entered, however he was paying attention to the quick lesson the Jounin was giving.

" Yosh! Gai-sensei I will purchase some weights so that my flames of youth will grow with the power of youth." A clone of the Jounin said before Naruto saw the most horrible Genjutsu his mind could ever come up with. He felt like clawing his eyes out with his new right arm. He couldn't imagine the madness in a person's mind to create such a monstrosity much less actually use it. The urge to kill those two freaks continued to grow as they chanted away. He would have attacked if he hadn't sensed the store owner behind him.

" So what are you here for kid?" The shop owner said hoping to rid himself of the sight of the eye burning pair. In his mind dealing with the demon was a thousand times better than those freaks.

" I just graduated. Give me all the standard jutsus a genin should know by the time they reach Chuunin." Naruto said making the man look at him with disbelief, along with team Gai.

" Whatever you say kid, but wouldn't your Sensei disapprove?" The man said not knowing that Naruto reaching chakra exhaustion with low level jutsus was the same chance of a sudden solar eclipse.

" My Sensei has two more students to worry about. I never had any one willing to teach me nor do I need one." Naruto said making the man feel bad for him. He didn't have a real grudge with the blond in front of him. He just saw people were nicer if he would bad mouth the blond. Naruto saw the conflicting emotions on the man face, it just made him hate the store owner for thinking he needed pity. The golden blond prepared to put the man in his place.

" Having a Sensei is a wonderful thing. You obtain a mentor to help you in the path of Life. Perhaps your sensei will be as wonderful as my own." Rock Lee said while in his nice guy pose. Naruto was shocked to see a sudden flash of light come from behind him, from his calculations it came from the clone of the green beast. The store owner was temporarily blinded frustrating Naruto.

" Perhaps you are right, but the power that rest withing me demands that I walk alone." Naruto said making Gai and the Store owner feel bad for the blond.

" Do you have what I need? Otherwise you're worthless to me." Naruto said while glaring at the shop owner, he would have lifted the civilian by his scrawny neck if it wasn't for the Jounin behind him.

The man took a step back in fear, he had never seen such cold and threatening eyes in someone so young. Not even the Uchiha prodigy was able to place so much fear into him. There was just something about Naruto that made him fear him. As if some kind of primal nature told him he had to do what he said or there was going to be consequences and no one was going to stop it.

" What have we done?" The shop owner said in fear. His mind raising with the images of mobs chasing Naruto, the voices of his fellow villagers bragging about the harm they did to him. Whether physical, mental, emotional or economical. He now saw the fruit his home has grown. He could feel the darkness begin to sprout in Naruto, ready to consume the blond and any around him.

" You created a Demon from a Jailer." Naruto said with a dark smirk making the eyes of the adults to grow.

" Now get me what I seek." Naruto said making the man rush to get the scrolls.

_' The Mandarin was right, come push and shove civilians will break down if you start giving them killing intent at the right moments. I can't wait till I start going even deeper into that scroll than I have before... the only problem I have is those fools behind me. It matters not what they do or say it won't be long before I master the power of the Mandarin.'_ Naruto thought as he heard the man rushing around to complete his order.

Half way through the order he stopped.

" What's your affinity." The man said making Naruto look at him with confusion.

" Affinity?.. What's that?" Naruto asked making the store fill with shock.

" You graduated the academy without knowing about elemental affinities? You're probably as useless as Lee." Neji said with arrogance. All it did was bring a smirk to Naruto's face. Naruto easily recognized the Hyuuga teen for what he was... a weird eyed Sasuke. And if there was one thing Naruto was put in this world for, other than eating Ramen, it was busting Sasuke's balls. So busting the balls of a blind looking teen with a Sasuke brain transplant would be just as fun and rewarding.

" Tell me... have you ever bested a Chuunin with a single jutsu? " Naruto said making the Genin look at him with disbelief. A dark smile on his face as he could feel their emotions in the air. He was glad he could see their faces off the reflection on a large blade. The new Mandarin had his back to Team Nine.

" I thought so... When you reach that level of power come find me for a spar. Then you can see how useless I am." Naruto said with a dark tone that made the proud Hyuuga uncomfortable.

" He can't be serious, right Gai-sensei?" Tenten said as Gai studied the blond.

" I'm afraid he is... Naruto defeated a traitor on his own before graduating the academy." Gai said making his team look at him with disbelief and then at the golden blond.

" As impressive as your flames of youth are, I can feel you wish to grow stronger to protect Konoha." Gai said with a smile. Hoping that the boy could be saved from the evil that wanted to claim him.

" Of course I will protect Konoha... what kind of Kage will I be if my power doesn't surpass that of any other ninja in this village?" Naruto said with a smirk.

" Do you mind channeling chakra into this paper?" The store owner said with a smile, his instincts told him to get on the blond's good side.

Naruto took the paper and flared his chakra making the room fill with his power.

_' His chakra shouldn't be visible, and why is it black?' _Gai though as he saw Naruto coat his body with his chakra. It would suddenly fare as if on fire. While some of his chakra circled around him like a mini cyclone. The mouths of those in the room dropped as they saw the paper split in half before bursting into vicious flames.

" Something wrong?" Naruto said making the man shake his head.

" No, but what you just did was incredible. Most Shinobi don't develop their second affinity until they start training to reach the rank of Jounin. Hell that chakra you flared is already more than any Chuunin could match." The store owner said before a thought filled his head.

_' No one has ever helped him... so why is his chakra so big?'_ Gai and the Store Owner thought as they looked at the dark chakra owning blond.

" I don't care about how amazing it was, I want to know what does it mean?" Naruto said making the room look at him with disbelief.

" It means that using fire and wind jutsus will be easy for you. Wind is your main affinity though I don't know that many wind users in this village." Gai said with a smile.

" I have some genin level jutsus, with you being a wind user I'll order some stronger ones." The store owner said as he started to grab a few more scrolls.

" These are chakra control exercises that will help you tame your elements. " The man said as he placed eight scrolls near two more. " This is more than enough fire power for a new Genin, come back in three months and I'll have stronger jutsus for you then." The store owner said as Naruto paid the normal amount for his new jutsus.

" Will you really be able to learn all that withing three months?" Tenten asked as she saw Naruto carry a bag with ten scrolls.

" Come challenge me with a spar by then, I'll more than willing to show you how much I've learned. I also expect to learn from such a well developed Kunochi." Naruto said with a smirk making Tenten blush. Naruto took his two bags of scrolls and left.

" That kid might really live up to the name this village gave him." The store owner said while shuddering.

" That's what I'm afraid of." Gai said making his team look at him with confusion.

" I don't have much time to learn all of these, lucky for me two should be enough." Naruto thought as he looked through his scrolls. He was in the same location where Mizuki had started the start of Naruto's new life. Seeing the Cabin behind him was abandoned he planned to fix it to use this area as much as possible.

The golden blond sat in a lotus position as he read through the scrolls, placing them in how they would benefit him in battle and outside of it.

" I doubt any of these will catch that Jounin off guard. If I can't hurt him then perhaps I could..." Naruto said as a dark smile began to grow on his face. He picked up his scrolls and ran to his favorite Ramen Bar. The two friendly cooks were shocked to see him eat at his usual speed with his bandaged limb. They were left speechless when he admitted that nothing was wrong. They agreed to keep quiet about his sneaky trick. Teuchi was proud of Naruto's changes, to him the blond was becoming who he always knew he could become. Ayame felt that something in Naruto was starting to die, but she figured everyone had to grow up sooner or later.

Naruto trained until near chakra exhaustion though this night and the night his world changed there was a huge difference.

+-*/\*-+

Hello everyone and thanks for taking the time to read my work. I hope you all enjoyed, I would have posted this chapter sooner but I kept feeling like it just needed a bit more. I try to update at a faster rate, the reason I haven't is that this story along with a few more are being transferred from paper to my computer. It's a long and boring process... I apologize for my laziness... Anyways I hope you like my Mandarin version of Naruto. I have many plans for him. some that would put even Madara to shame.

To those that follow my other stories I just went over you're reviews less than... twelve hours ago and I was shocked. I had never been overwhelmed with reviews like that before. I'm going to take in the words of those that review and try to add your feelings to my stories as much as possible. I apologize for my spelling and all that other stuff, yeah know the rest.

The date I publish this will be more than likely the end of my first poll and it will be a while before I make another. I'm not a big fan of writing Harems or making my characters god like... though it does tend to happen a lot... it's why I have to go back and rewrite a few things.

A word of comfort for my Naruto Fanfic readers is that I will try to use as many jutsus with their original Japanese name. Though anything original will be in English since I'm too lazy to translate. It's been a long time since I've gone over the Naruto series as a whole and most of the things I write is from my memory. I apologize for any inconvenience it might cause though I am starting to double check my info to make my work more accurate.

Don't expect anything too great since I do this for fun and as a way to relieve my stress. Once again thank you for reading and please review to your heart content just make it PG Thirteen since the reviews aren't Rater M. Ja ne.


	8. The Bell Test

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Chapter 8 The bell test**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

**Jutsu**

Two members of Team Seven were shocked to see Naruto sleeping in the training ground they were suppose to meet. Sasuke quickly noticed that the landscape showed signs of jutsus being used. The two awake members were furious when Kakashi showed up three hours later and Naruto then decided to get up.

_' Did he spent all of last night training?' _Kakashi thought with confusion since Naruto looked completely refreshed as if the destruction around him wasn't caused by him.

Wanting to see how his could be students would prepare for a battle Kakashi sent shadow clones to spy on them around the bed time of children their age. Sakura was already asleep with her Shinobi attire and gear ready for the morning. It gained her points since she didn't wait till the last minute to prepare. Sasuke on the other hand did some last minute training before going to sleep and let out a few silent tears. When his clone found Naruto the golden blond was practicing his Taijutsu and his weapon accuracy. The whole time showing his right arm wasn't a liability or slowing him down. Running low on power Kakashi's clone dispelled itself to send back the information he gathered.

Kakashi decided to shrug off the condition his students were in. Naruto was relaxed and ready for battle while his teammates didn't look like him. In the end two out of three wasn't a bad score considering how he wanted to test them.

" This test is fairly simple. Take a bell from me and get a free lunch, those that get a bell won't get the honor of being sent back to the academy as failures." Kakashi said as he dangled two musical devices in front of the would be Genin. He was mentally smiling while seeing Sakura worry, Sasuke got pissed and Naruto was trying to come up with a way to beat the Jounin.

" Aren't you missing a bell Sensei?" Sakura asked making Naruto sigh.

" It means one of you two is going home." Naruto said making Sakura shocked and Sasuke glare at him.

_' Looks like they are not willing to work together.'_Kakashi thought with a disappointed voice.

" **How dare you? I'm going to... Ahhhh! I'm so mad I can't even think of a proper punishment for you! Just you wait Naruto... I'll figure something out for hinting Sasuke-kun is going to be sent back to the academy." **Inner Sakura said with rage as she held a whip before a whimpering and begging Naruto.

_' What if he didn't mean Sasuke was going to fail?' _Sakura thought making her Inner Persona freeze.

" **Wait... you don't mean... Naruto how could you? I thought you cared about me!"**Inner Sakura said with great pain. She felt betrayed due to the lone fact Naruto wasn't supporting her. He was always the only person to ever have faith in her ninja skills. Not even her parents, her friends, or even herself felt she would one day be a ninja. The only one that believed in her and gave her his total support had always been Naruto. After all he was the President and sole member of the Haruno Sakura Association of Appreciation. It was his greatest joy to support her and all of her selfish wishes.

_' I'm going to defeat him no matter what.'_Sasuke thought as his mind filled with him learning an instant kill jutsu from Kakashi and using it to defeat his brother.

_' I know that traitorous Chuunin can't compare to the real power this village has to offer. Show me what you got Jounin.'_Naruto thought before Kakashi signaled for them to start. With nothing more than three blurs Kakashi was left standing in front of the bentos he had bought.

_' At least their power is above the Genin I had seen, but how good are they at using their skills?'_Kakashi thought as he walked towards the place where he sensed to be center of his three students. The man carefully walked as he took in how good his students were in hiding, he was pleasantly surprised that all three had near perfect hiding skills.

_' He wouldn't!'_Kakashi thought as he saw six Kunai land around him. His eye grew with disbelief as he saw the tags attached to them ready to destinate.

_' I told them to come with the intent to kill but I didn't think they were actually going to do it.'_Kakashi thought as crossed his arms over his body and braced himself. He gathered his chakra and made a coat around his body. His skin instantly harden as small amounts of earth chakra protected him from the blast.

_' Those tags had more than enough power for a spar._ _They were also lit half way by the time they hit the ground. If it wasn't for that Iwa jutsu I could have died.'_ Kakashi thought as he was covered in smoke.

Naruto smirked before he ran towards the place his Sensei was at. His teammates couldn't believe the amount of force the golden blond used.

_**' Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**_**'**Naruto thought as he closed his eyes and focused on his chakra. After learning the benefit of faking a lost arm the teen worked on using his jutsus with no seals. He was only able to do three and they were the basic ones of the academy. The jaw of Sakura dropped as she saw eight Naruto appear behind the blond. They quickly rushed ahead and dove into the smoke to fight. Naruto skid to a stop and waited as the sound of battle came to an end. The smoke cleared and revealed his clones piled on top of Kakashi.

" Tch." Naruto said as he saw Kakashi turn into one of his clones. It whined in the way that Naruto used to be. It frustrated the golden blond and he threw a kunai through its head to dispel it. The eyes of his team grew in disbelief at the way Naruto got rid of the image of his old self. Naruto's eyes grew as his mind filled with the knowledge his clone had gained.

Naruto waved his left arm in front of his clones and they instantly knew what he wanted to do. They turned into Kunai and Shuriken before flying towards Naruto's hand. The golden blond quickly turned and aimed the weapons towards something his clone saw.

_' Looks like he saw underneath the underneath.'_Kakashi thought as the Shuriken sliced into the traps he had made. As two branches swung into the air with nothing, the projectiles soon returned to their original form.

_' Those are solid clones, solid clones that can use jutsus! Where did he get such power?' _Sasuke thought with jealousy as the clones made a perimeter around the bell to allow Naruto to get it. The main body walked with a careful pace, he had his goal in his reach and refused to lose it by acting a fool.

_' No way... Naruto got a bell before Sasuke-kun? How is that possible?'_Sakura thought as she saw the real Naruto pick the bell up and pocket it.

" **He looked bad ass while doing it! I can't wait till Sasuke-kun does it that way it will be a thousand times better."** Inner Sakura yelled with excitement before she paled.

_' If Sasuke-kun gets the second bell I'll be sent back to the academy... I would fail... I've never failed before.' _Sakura thought as she saw Naruto continue to look around. Then to her shock he did something that she and more than likely her team never thought possible.

_' How can he do that?' _Sasuke thought as he looked where the golden blond used to be.

_' I don't think his henge is the same one I'm using.'_Kakashi thought after the real Naruto transformed into a falcon before taking flight. Kakashi's eyes grew when he saw something familiar, something he had noticed when he would attempt to save the golden blond as a child.

_' Those feathers, whenever he would suddenly vanish in a dead end there was always those feathers. So that's how he did it, how long did it take him to learn to do this?'_Kakashi thought as his eye sight followed the flying golden blond. He saw it land at the spot they had left the lunches.

_' No doubt he has Genin skills... Sensei you must be proud.'_ Kakashi thought as he hurried to test his other students.

" Sakura... behind you." A voice said making the pinkette turn with disbelief. Her eyes grew as she saw her would be instructor standing in front of her with the ram seal. Leaves began to spin and Sakura began to feel the need to sleep. Her eyes flew open as she saw the blurry image of Kakashi take a hit.

" That was a Genjutsu Sakura! You're better than this!" Naruto said as he stood in front of his crush. Sakura looked with shocked just like Kakashi as they saw the golden blond had become a mixture of who he used to be and who he was becoming.

_' I wasn't able to dispel the technique with a simple Kai... How powerful was the Illusion Kakashi planned to use?'_ Naruto thought as he made four copies appear.

" You already passed Naruto, so why are you here? In a one on one battle I will beat you hands down. Why risk losing your chance to succeed by helping her?" Kakashi said making Sakura look at the blond and then at the silver haired man.

" Because she needs me, no matter how much I hate to admit it I need to help her... otherwise I'm stuck with the emo king." Naruto said making Sakura glare at him.

" Doesn't look like she appreciates your help." Kakashi said with a smirking tone that made Sakura flinch.

" Doesn't matter, because I know that when it really matters she will be there. Like I will be there for her." Naruto said making Sakura blush.

_' What the hell am I doing? He's right, there's no reason for me to help her. The plan was to see how badly the others did.'_Naruto thought as he looked at the Jounin before him.

_**' Protect her...love her.'**_A voice whispered in Naruto's head making him frown.

_' His resolve is waving, looks like he's doubting what he did... I bet if Sensei was here he wouldn't have such doubts.'_Kakashi thought as he saw Naruto lower the kunai he had and turn to look at Sakura.

_' What is he doing?' _Sakura thought as the cerulean eyes of Naruto locked with her emerald orbs.

" I'm sorry." Naruto said making Sakura look at him with disbelief. The golden walked passed the pinkette as she stood frozen with disbelief. Kakashi wanted to sigh at the choice the blond made, only to have his eyes grow as Sakura suddenly ducked and Naruto turned with his top speed and flung the kunai. The man jumped back and crossed his arms once more as the Kunai exploded. The two Genin jumped back and ran the same direction to get away, as Kakashi went flying into a tree.

_' He tricked me... looks like his heart understands the true meaning of this test.' _Kakashi thought with a light smirk that became a groan as he felt the pain his back gained when he slammed into the tree behind him.

_' He saved me... I can't believe he saved me.' _Sakura thought as she looked at the golden blond that was running at her side.

Her words had cut into him before she noticed his hand opened and reveal the exploding tag wrapped around the handle of the kunai he had. She couldn't believe how easy she understood what he had planned.

" **I'll give him a treat later."**Inner Sakura said with a smile before they saw Naruto suddenly stop. The hidden personality was smiling while petting Naruto's head as he sat at her side.

" I won't help you again. That Jounin is still underestimating us... but he won't the moment he sees me helping you." Naruto said as he turned to head to a different direction.

Sakura felt bad as she lost the feeling of confidence she was gaining from having her follower at her side. She didn't know how she was going to past this exam the longer it lasted the harder she felt it was becoming.

" You're better than this Sakura, don't let his tittle scare you... you're the best Kunochi in the academy. That was something you gained on your own. Are you going to let all those years of blood, sweat and tears go to waste?" Naruto said making Sakura eyes to grow.

" Sasuke can only see power and those that have it. I doubt there will be anything that catches his attention more than seeing you take the last bell." Naruto said before rushing off.

_' Can I do it? Can I really send Sasuke-kun back to the academy so that he can love me?' _Sakura thought as she saw Naruto's back.

" **Of course, it's why Sasuke-kun hasn't taken the bell yet. He wants to see how powerful we are. Remember what Naruto said yesterday, we need to impress him with our skills as a Kunochi. This is only the first test of many to prove we are worthy of his love."** Inner Sakura said while cracking her knuckles.

" I'll pass this test with the power of my love." Sakura said before rushing to find the Jounin.

" **Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"**Sakura heard Sasuke yell as she finished working on something. She quickly rushed to the explosion and saw Kakashi dig Sasuke underground. A frown grew on her face before she sent a barrage of projectiles at the mocking Jounin.

_' She got me a few times, that girl is good at predicting my landing points.' _Kakashi thought as he jumped from Sakura's attack. A smile grew on his face as he saw Sakura pale before looking at her Kunai holders only to see them empty. The man chuckled lightly as he saw her take a few steps back in fear. He closed his eye and smiled as he sensed if Naruto was around. The man rushed towards the frighten Sakura making her turn and run.

_' Looks like whatever pep talk Naruto gave her wore off.' _Kakashi thought before seeing Sakura go through a bush. He jumped over it before chasing the red dressed Kunochi. His eyes grew when he grabbed her shoulder only for her to dispel into a cloud of smoke at the moment of contact.

_**' Bunshin?'**_Kakashi thought before hearing the sound of a rope snap. He turned and saw the real Sakura holding a Kunai. He followed a retreating rope and soon saw where it ended. His eyes grew with disbelief at the large tree being swung towards his direction. He would have jumped if he didn't hear a second tree making its way to him. The man ducked and heard both trees smash into each other.

_' If Sakura had more experienced she would have been able to prepare for the two flaws in these kind of traps.'_Kakashi thought before hearing some hissing noise. He looked at the log in front of him and saw smoke coming from its bark.

_' Shit!"_The man thought as he crossed his arms to protect himself once more. Sakura smiled and cut a second rope.

_' This can't be good.'_Kakashi thought as he heard traps be triggered around him. Wave after wave of Kunai and Shuriken followed him.

_' Memo to self, don't switch with logs that are in the perfect spot to live.'_Kakashi thought after the third log he used to escape just placed him in another trap.

Kakashi's eyes grew as he saw Sakura pull on the edge of the dirt in front of him.

_' When the hell did she have time to dig this?'_Kakashi thought as he saw a pit with bamboo spikes waiting to impale him. Kakashi pulled some kunai out and stabbed them into the dirt wall to prevent his death.

" Give me the bell sensei and I promise to help you up." Sakura said as she held the same kunai as before.

_' This girl, she has me follow her while faking her fears, then leads me to a trap with a basic clone and then makes me dance until I fall into her pit of death... I don't got a reason not to pass her.' _Kakashi thought only to hear the sound of someone cutting the bell off.

" Sorry Sensei... but this is a Genjutsu." A second Sakura said before Kakashi saw his environment switch until he found himself in the same clearing he had chased the clone to. The man felt embarrassed as he let go of his death grip on his kunai while lying on the ground.

" Care to tell us what you saw Sensei? Seeing you jump around like a lemur in heat almost made me break Sakura's illusion by laughing too hard." Naruto said with a smirk making the man blush though the genin didn't saw it.

" No... but congratulations you two for getting a bell." Kakashi said after hearing the alarm go off.

" I knew you could do it. I can't figure out why you doubted yourself." Naruto said making Sakura blush once more and look at her feet with a bit of shame.

" Naruto is right Sakura, you both showed a great understanding and trap preparation when you came after me. You worked with what you got and did your best. That is all the village ever truly requires from it's Shinobi." Kakashi said with an eye smile as they walked towards the place that Sasuke was brooding at.

" Sakura got a bell?" Sasuke said with disbelief as he looked at his most loyal fan girl.

" Don't doubt her Uchiha... she's stronger than you can imagine." Naruto said making Sasuke glare at him.

" Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled as she saw Kakashi suddenly tie her crush to a post.

" Why don't you two eat your lunches while I go get a mission from the Hokage? When I get back we can start your real training." Kakashi said before disappearing with one bento.

" Are you hungry Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said as the Uchiha's stomach betrayed the way he wanted to look.

" Feed him my vegetables Sakura... I'm not going to eat them." Naruto said making Sakura and Sasuke look at him.

" We're going to do a mission, no matter how much I dislike Sasuke I can't afford to let the village down just because he's starving." Naruto said making Sakura give him a light smile.

" Thank you Naruto." Sakura said making Naruto blush as he walked away, he hoped they didn't see it since he had turned the moment she started to smile.

" Why are you thanking me Sakura? It should be the Teme." Naruto said making Sakura lose her smile.

" Because he won't be able to thank you of all people. So let me thank you when Sasuke is too stubborn to do it." Sakura said making Naruto grunt as he continued to walk.

" Why are you helping me Sakura? I've never given you a real reason to care for me." Sasuke said as his fan girl feed him.

" Because I want to help you, you're my teammate, its the right thing to do... just like I know you will help Naruto and how he would help us when we need it." Sakura said making Sasuke look at the retreating back of the golden blond.

" We're a team, maybe not a good team but if we work together things can get better... I know it can." Sakura said making the lone Uchiha look at her.

" Fine... you win Sakura..." The Uchiha said making the pinkette look at him.

" It won't hurt to be a team, and seeing you two with a bell proves you won't hold me back." Sasuke said making Sakura smile at him. A smile that wasn't faked with the need to win him over. A smile that showed her to be something more than an annoyance. A smile that Sasuke couldn't help but find cute and blush at his thoughts.

" I'm glad to hear that." Kakashi said as he cut the rope making Sasuke fall on top of Sakura. They're eyes grew as Kakashi started giving out a perverted giggle.

_' Why does it hurt seeing them like that?'_Naruto thought as he saw Sasuke kissing Sakura. _' Why am I still weak?'_Naruto thought before nearly storming off.

Kakashi watched his Sensei's son looking at his good hand before making a fist and leaving. He wondered if bringing him back to spend time with their new team was actually a good idea._ ' I should have just told him that the team officially passed and let him alone. Seeing his crush kiss his rival can't be good for his need to practice teamwork.'_

_' Kissing feels good.'_Sasuke thought as he got off Sakura.

_**' Bleagh, his mouth tasted like one of mom's health drinks.' **_Inner Sakura complained since Sasuke's mouth had been collecting the taste of different vegetables and the anchovies that Naruto didn't like. Sakura could understood why there was anchovies in the bentos nor how her crush was able to eat them. She wished he didn't since she hated the taste.

" You two go make out to your hearts content. Our real training starts tomorrow." Kakashi said before vanishing.

" Sakura... about what happened." Sasuke said making Sakura want to puke.

" I'm sorry Sasuke but I got to go." Sakura yelled before rushing off. She hadn't noticed the smell coming from his mouth until after tasting it.

" **Oh god that smell." **Inner Sakura yelled as they rushed off to brush her teeth. Gargle with her mouth and more than likely throw up.

While Narut laid on his bed looking at the Ring of the Mandarin while swearing to live up to the Legacy of his ancestor.

+-*/\*-+

**To those waiting for me to post this story I wish to apologize for the late and extremely short update. Do to my carelessness I have lost the original copy of Mark of Failure, meaning that my many hours of writing by hand was wasted... Sigh. However I will do my best to keep this story since I will be starting over while remembering the key things I wanted to put into it. I hope you enjoyed it and I promise to put out an update by the end of April. Sorry for whatever mistakes I made, and thank you for reading.**

**To those that are reading A Jailor's Bonus I would like to inform you that the update will hopefully be out by the end of March if not the first week of April.**

**P.S. If you can't believe Sakura reacting negative to kissing Sasuke go experiment and find out how nasty it can be to kiss someone when their mouth taste like crap.**


	9. D rank Missions

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Chapter 9: D-rank Missions**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

***Jutsu***

" Avenger is in position."

" The Mistress of Pink is waiting for your orders... Captain Masturbate." Sakura said with a giggle while Sasuke chuckled.

" Damn it Sakura, I told you brats not to use that name!" Kakashi growled after getting up from doing a face plant.

_' I'm going to kill Naruto for making that nickname up.' _Kakashi thought as his team did the hardest mission a Genin could take.

" While you idiots were busy goofing around I caught the stupid thing." Naruto's voice was heard with annoyance, they weren't sure if it was for the Cat or their team.

" Damn it, you were suppose to wait for my permission before engaging the target. Next time you jump command I'll have to punish you Sargent Sunshine." Kakashi said with a smirk.

" Uh, Sensei... Naruto turned the headset off after telling us about Tora's capture." Sakura said with a sweat drop before her and Sasuke tilted from Kakashi screaming at Naruto's lack of teamwork. The rest of team seven turned off their headsets before chasing after their blond teammate. It was just another day in the life of team seven.

Team Seven in paper had the makings of an incredible team, unfortunately they had too many problem to work before they can walk that path. Problems that kept pilling up since their officially forming that had occurred a month before this mission. Sasuke didn't care about his teammates, Sakura only cared about Sasuke and Naruto wanted nothing to do with his two teammates and his Jounin leader. Kakashi found this the most annoying since the blond had never asked for additional training. Even Sakura had asked for extra training since her impressive work during the Bell Test. Something Kakashi and Sasuke never thought she had in her. Needless to say Kakashi hated the fact that his team lost the glimpse of teamwork he had been planning to have them develop. It was the foundation of Team Seven and the secret to the power of the former Team Seven Members.

Kakashi wasn't sure what to do, he was growing tired of Sasuke's demands for power. And Sakura looked a bit more depressed everyday and he didn't understand why. While Naruto surprisingly continued to grow in strength he refused to show when his teammates were around. The man knew how hard the golden blond trained after the team would break to rest. It made him fill a wave of pride but he wanted a more active role in the boys life. It was the duty he swore to his former master.

" If it was up to me cat... I would let you free, however this is a mission I must partake of." Naruto said as the cat hanged in his hand while he walked.

" Meow." Tora said with sadness.

" Remember my scent beast, next time you escape I promise to let you stay at my place for a week, but only if you promise to always go there when you escape. It isn't much but its all I can do for you." Naruto said with some sympathy for the beast, it was their third time hunting the renegade cat and Naruto has seen it lose more than one of its many lives after being held by its owner.

" Meow." Tora said with hope.

" Do we have a deal?" The golden blond said making Tora rub its body next to Naruto.

" Nyah." Tora said before Naruto went and put Tora on his shoulder.

" Don't betray my trust beast." Naruto said when he saw Tora look around while debating to escape. The cat decided that a week of freedom was better than having Genin trying to kill it like they have done to its many predecessors It was after all Tora the 45th. After the murders of Tora one, two and three the Village had breed cats to be identical to the one Naruto carried, it was the only way to kept the wife of the Daimyo happy and from learning the truth. The only thing that confused the ninja village was how the new Tora's kept learning about their predecessors. Which is why the became more desperate to escape and harder to catch.

" How are you doing that Naruto?" Ino said as Team Ten had seen Naruto while they enjoyed their lunch in a BBQ restaurant. The sight of Tora being a normal cat was shocking not only to them but the rest of the village. It there always the beast was nothing more than a demon spawn.

" Give me a reason to tell you." Naruto said as he continued walking. The platinum blond ignored his jerk like attitude since she figured he had to be tougher to prevent people from taking advantage of his useless right arm. The village had been shocked when Naruto had been informed by the doctors that his right arm had almost no signs of life. They had run a few diagnostics jutsus on him while having his arm and upper body bandaged. The golden blond had made sure to hide every bit of metal that had suddenly appeared on him. He wasn't going to be the first person to hide scars from high degree burns. The doctors honored his wishes since they had been reported on the damage and knew that such damage would never heal properly even for someone like Naruto. Thanks to their medical jutsus the golden blond was allowed to keep his privacy.

Naruto wasn't sure how it happen but the metal around his arm had prevent the doctors from sensing that his arm was still working. It was just something the blond contributed to the Mandarin's ring to let him continue to take advantage of the fools around him.

" Because I'm cute." Ino said with a pose to go along with her reason. Naruto turned his head enough to look at her with one eye. Her level of cuteness went up when she suddenly blushed.

_' I really like this Naruto.' _Ino thought as she tried to get the blond to fall for her beauty to get what she wanted. She cursed her parents once more for giving all the information they had on the Mandarin to Naruto. It was hard for her to get him to submit when she didn't have a trump card.

" You don't say." Naruto said after continuing his way to the tower. Ino's mouth hanged in disbelief before turning to the sound of her team chuckling. She turned to put them in their place, only to see an eye smiling Kakashi, a laughing Sakura and a smirking Sasuke. Sasuke was smirking since he figured she had changed target and was going to leave him alone.

" Nice try Ino, but Naruto's has always had good taste in girls." Sakura said with a smirk. Her mind filling with the many times the golden blond had tried to win her affection. Not noticing the moment Naruto paused thanks to her words. Ever since the incident after the bell test Naruto hasn't been the same when involving his team. Which is understandable when you see your love kiss your most hated enemy.

" **That's right bitch, Naruto belongs to me, when I'm ready to use him he will be more than willing to please his Mistress... so you can't have him."** Inner Sakura said with pride as she was being hold bridal style by Naruto, while Ino was begging on her knees to have the golden blond like her. As Ino cried she would make noises that would normally come from a real pig.

" If you really must know." Naruto said with a husky voice as he whispered in Ino's ear making her blush. The eyes of the two teams grew in disbelief as the golden blond had suddenly turned Ino into a blushing mess that couldn't make a real word come out of her mouth. Naruto grew a mental smirk as he looked at the face of Sakura and the others that had plagued him. Mainly Sakura since she was filled with disbelief and a hint of betrayal. The image he was showing her was something she had never thought possible, and was one she would never forget.

_' I don't need her, I can always find someone else, someone better, someone more deserving of being at my side.'_ Naruto thought as he gently ran the fingers of his left arm on the side of Ino's face.

" Kunochi aren't meant to be cute Ino-chan." Naruto said with a tone that made Ino gulp as she felt a warmth fill her. " The women that live in the shadows, and carry the message death... they will always be Beautiful... and sinfully Sexy." Naruto said making Ino moan lightly at the words the sapphire eyed teen spoke. " Look before you Ino." Naruto said as he gently cupped Ino's face and turned it towards Sakura. " Sakura is one of the cutest girls in the village but that makes her nothing but a child in the eyes of Shinobi. I am a Shinobi and as a man of power I want a real Kunochi, not some random snot nosed brat." Naruto said making Ino mentally smile as Sakura's face filled with pain. His hateful words doing far more damage than he could imagine. This was even more true since she was not going to get him to help rebuild her confidence. Since the bell test Haruno Sakura was finding herself more overwhelmed in the world of shadows without her loyal fan boy to ensure her sanity.

" Is that true?" Ino said before she felt Naruto's hand travel from her face, between her chest without touching it, before landing on her stomach. He made a spiral on her stomach with a single finger before pulling her body towards his. She let out a light squeal from the sudden force and from feeling her body hit his hard and developed chest. A physical built she had not thought possible on Naruto until he started using his bandages.

" What do you think?" Naruto whispered as her body somehow molded over his. Ino couldn't help but pant at how her body was reacting while she was feeling new sensations from Naruto's body. Her hands laid at her side while his hand made sure to give her no chance of escaping.

_' Watch you pink haired bitch, and suffer while learning what could have been yours. What I would have done for you.'_ Naruto thought as he saw Sakura look at the two blonds with disbelief and betrayal. He could see how his actions and words were cutting into the one that held his heart. It wouldn't be long until he freed himself from the curse that was Haruno Sakura. He couldn't help but let out a smile of satisfaction at the pain growing in the pinkette.

" Until I find such a woman I must be patient." Naruto suddenly said before suddenly removing himself from the mesmerized Ino. A smirk on his face as he left the two loudest Fan girls on the planet completely speechless. Ino would soon find herself missing his warmth while Sakura would feel more alone thanks to Naruto wanting nothing to do with her existence.

" We must hurry Captain Masturbate or the old man won't give us another mission." Naruto said making Kakashi snap out of his giggling. Asuma instantly lit a new cigarette to replace the one he dropped while seeing Naruto seduce his student. Choji and Shikamaru had never seen Ino so vulnerable, so... hot as when she became pudding in Naruto's hands. Sasuke couldn't believe Naruto actually knew what to do with girls, while Sakura wanted to run off crying like she had just caught her lover with her best friend. Inner Sakura wasn't sure who she wanted to kill more... her former fanboy or her former best friend.

" Captain Masturbate?" Asuma said with a smirk.

" He means Sasuke." Kakashi said with a light growl before tucking away his Icha Icha.

" Right." Asuma said with sarcasm as Sasuke glared at the silver headed man.

" Come on Sakura, you can kick his ass after we turn in that stupid cat." Kakashi said making his pink haired Kunochi figure out who she was going to hurt. She would make Naruto feel the same amount of pain that has suddenly start plaguing her life. Something that Kakashi was counting on.

" Rest in peace Tora." Naruto said as the cat was being crushed by the larger than life wife of the Daimyo. Which Daimyo he wasn't sure, he just hoped it wast the Daimyo of his country.

" Good work Team Seven, now here is a mission you can do with ease and Naruto here is a mission you might enjoy." The pipe smoking man said with a smile while the blond wondered if the man had strengthen his medication once more. He made a mental note to torch the man's private garden of medical plants if things got annoying.

" It's an easy mission Naruto." Iruka said making the blond look at him. The man stood from behind the mission tables and walked towards Naruto.

" My newest batch of students will be introduced to me today. I need a Genin from the previous graduating class to show off some jutsus. Mainly the three basics." Iruka said making the eyes of the golden blond to grow with disbelief. The same was with his teammates.

" No offense Iruka-sensei but wouldn't Sasuke or I be a better candidate for this mission?" Sakura asked while looking at Naruto's reaction. She flinched at the glare he sent her way, something about him being so hostile was eating away at her soul. She didn't understand it and couldn't find a way to stop such things from happening.

" Normally yes, but fresh academy students can be demanding. Tell me Sakura how many times did you and your classmates demand for your instructors to show off the basic jutsus." The Hokage said making Sakura's eyes to grow. It was a lot.

" The average per class is usually atleast fifty times. It's why two Chuunin are there to help ease the load. Unfortunately Mizuki is being hold up with something important and won't be able to help me." Iruka said making everyone but two Genin understand what he meant. " Recently I had the time to think over Naruto's performance in the academy. And it never occurred to me that Naruto had so much chakra available. This mission would be great for him since he could use the basic jutsus without seals." Iruka said with a smile.

" How did you learn that?" Naruto said with a light growl.

" I told them Naruto." Kakashi said making the blond look at him.

" It's only natural for the village to ask how well the new Genin are preforming after a month of their graduation. All the new teams continue to be evaluated for their first year of service after that the reports decrease as they rise in rank." Kakashi said making Naruto accept his answers.

" Is Iruka-sensei right?" Sasuke asked making Kakashi give an eye smile. The Uchiha clearly being jealous of Naruto and his ridiculous chakra reserves.

" Oh yes, I would be suffering from chakra exhaustion if I made the same amount of clones Naruto does." Kakashi said making the genin look at the blond with disbelief. During their training and mock battle the blond would only make eight clones to keep them guessing at the real limit of his power.

" Here you go Kakashi. Team Seven will be helping set up decorations in the market center to promote the Day of Fire. While Naruto helps in the academy." The Hokage said as he handed a scroll to the Chuunin Iruka and another to Kakashi.

" Do your best Naruto." Kakashi said with his eye smile as he saw Iruka prepare to take Naruto away. Team Seven still had to report on their last mission, not to mention Kakashi had to tell his leader about Naruto's unwillingness to spend more time with his team than what is required. He hoped it wouldn't cause any problems to his golden haired student.

" Let's go Naruto, if we hurry we can stop for a bowl of Ramen before going to the academy." Iruka said with a smile making Naruto shrug his shoulders before heading out of the room.

" Na-Na-Naruto-k-k-kun." Hinata said when she bumped into the blond when he stepped out of the mission room. She blushed as the golden blond stared at her, it grew as Naruto offered his hand to help her up.

" Watch where you're going Dobe?" Kiba said without a tone of anger. He might be hot headed but he knew Naruto wasn't the type to knock girls down without a justifiable purpose.

" Akamaru, Shino." Naruto said making Kiba growl before Naruto gave him a smirk that found its way to Kiba.

" Have you been well Uzumaki?" Shino asked.

" Could always be better." Naruto said making Shino nod his head as the rest of Team Eight looked at Naruto's right arm. Hinata wanted to cry, Akamaru and Kiba wanted to hurt the bitch that did that to his friend and Kurenai pitied the golden blond.

" It's time to go Naruto, it's good to see you three again." Iruka said with a smile as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

" Laterz Iruka-sensei." Kiba said with a grin while Hinata and Shino nodded to their former instructor. Team Eight soon walked in and saw a smiling Hokage.

" Did Naruto do something wrong once again?" Kurenai said making the Hokage look at her with confusion before he started to laugh. It hadn't been the first time she saw that pair leave the office together.

" What? No... I just split his team up so that Naruto could help at the academy. Team Seven is going to be helping you fix up the Market. They will be in charge of decoration while your team handles the cleaning and disposing of trash." The Hokage said as he handed a mission to Kurenai.

"Great we're going to be stuck with the Emo King and the Pink Haired Banshee." Kiba said with annoyance while Akamaru gave a light bark. Kurenai frowned at what they young Inuzuka had said, she didn't see the two members of Kakashi's team in any negative light thanks to the reports. She had no idea the lesson she would learn about painting an image of a person only by the reports and gossip you hear from the villagers.

" If we step lightly we won't be disturbed by them." Shino said as he adjusted his glasses. He might be silent and mysterious but he knew how to interact with people, it was people that didn't know how to interact with him. It's why he valued his friends so much.

Naruto looked upon the doors of the academy as Iruka walked with him while carrying a smile.

" I bet you didn't think you would be coming back here to do a mission." Iruka said making Naruto nod his head. " We need to hurry. I was only able to go pick you up during my lunch break." Iruka said before the two went to the classroom Naruto had learned to hate.

" Boss!" Konohamaru yelled as he saw the golden blond walk in with his powerful look. His words instantly making the Academy students to look at the Genin with their instructor.

_' He's really hot for a commoner.'_ Hyuuga Hanabi thought as Naruto awoke something within her she didn't knew she had.

" Get your butts in your seats." Iruka said with a growl making the students instantly do as he said.

" What? No Demon Head Jutsu?" Naruto asked making Iruka chuckle.

" What's that?" Moegi asked.

" It's jutsus I use to put brats in their places." Iruka said with a smirk while Naruto nodded his head. Since the beginning of your classes all I've heard is... Sensei show us a jutsu... When are we going to learn a Jutsus?... I want a Jutsu to beat the old man." Iruka said making Konohamaru blush since the examples Iruka gave was mostly him. His classmates laughing over the fact that Iruka had mocked his tone perfectly.

" You may not know him personally but Naruto was one of my students before recently graduating." Iruka said as he looked at Naruto with pride. " You won't find a harder working Shinobi nor someone with a dream as wonderful as his. One I hope he is able to accomplish." Iruka said making Naruto's eyes to grow.

" He was also one of my more troublesome students." Iruka said making Naruto smirk.

" How so?" Hanabi asked.

" Naruto was the one that painted the Hokage Monument in broad day light." Iruka said making Naruto fill with pride. _' I was hoping he would take that as an insult.'_

" I would have gotten away with it if Iruka-sensei hadn't butted in." Naruto said making the Chuunin to chuckle.

" Didn't anyone do anything? I know my parents were really mad when you did that." Udon said making Naruto smirk.

" They couldn't touch me." Naruto said making the academy students look at him with awe.

" It's true, Naruto has always laid down complicated pranks to help him escape from ANBU, Jounin and Chuunin. Genin gave up trying to catch him a long time ago." Iruka said making the academy students talk with excitement.

" And because of these reason I have decided to bring Naruto to give you a little demonstration of Shinobi and their Jutsus." Iruka said before giving the floor to Naruto.

" What are the basics jutsus for a ninja?" Naruto asked before looking at Moegi and her raised hand.

" Henge." The orange haired girl answered.

" Kawarimi." Hanabi said after getting a nod from Naruto making her blush when she got another for answering correctly.

" And Bunshin." Konohamaru said making Naruto smirk.

" The first I will show you is the Henge no Jutsu." Naruto said being covered in a cloud of smoke. To the shock of everybody he came out looking like the yellow flash.

" Henge is the basic of all jutsus that all Shinobi will use. It has endless uses and becomes one of your main weapons if you learn how to do it properly." The Yondaime said making Iruka's mouth to drop.

_' He has Yondaime-sama's voice down perfectly, hell he even moves like him.' _Iruka thought with disbelief.

" Another things that makes the Henge a great tool is that not only can you change who you are but what you are." A woman with long red hair said after a cloud of smoke had engulfed Naruto. She wore the clothes that would fit perfectly on a mother.

_' That's Uzumaki Kushina.' _Iruka thought with disbelief while remembering how much he feared the lovely Kunochi.

" With the right training, one can become just about anything." Naruto said before returning to normal. He smirked before another cloud of smoke engulfed him and reveled Kakashi during his ANBU days. Then Asuma, Ino, Mizuki, Tora, and a vending machine which oddly enough had popped out a can of tea.

" As you train you will learn your limitations but those limitations are meant to be broken. This jutsus can only be restricted by your imagination." Naruto said as he saw the academy students follow his every word.

" The next jutsu is..." Naruto said only to have a barrage of Kunai and Shuriken to hit him. The students yelled in fright as they saw a smirking Iruka, after killing his former student. Only to see Naruto's bloody image turn into a log and Naruto to lock kunai with the Chuunin that had attacked him. Their small battle was very dramatic and left the children looking at them with awe.

" Kawarimi." Naruto said with a calm tone before both put their weapons up. Showing no sign that what just happened was going to cause them problems.

" Finally you have the Bunshin no jutsu." Naruto said before closing his eyes. Iruka was filled with shock along with the class as four clones were created along side of Naruto.

" This jutsu..." Clone one said.

" Is a great distraction..." Clone two said.

" Not only can you confuse your opponent..." Clone three said.

" But when you learn physical clones it can help you fight more than before." Clone four said.

" But you must master the original clone technique before working on a physical one, right Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked making the man nod his head.

" Any questions?" Naruto said before he was bombarded by the exited and clearly mystified students.

+-*/\*-+

" Don't you think something weird is going on with them?" Kiba asked his teammates as they had a break to enjoy a light meal while looking at team seven. Kakashi like always was reading his porn while not caring what was happening around him. A few empty rice ball wraps and a can of tea in front of him. No one could figure out when he ate his food, meanwhile there was an air of unfamiliarity between Sakura and Sasuke. It was something that Team Eight had figured Sakura would have originally loved. The reason being that Sasuke was trying to get her attention. The only reason Sakura wasn't in a world of bliss was because of the food Sakura had brought. A few Tuna Sandwiches, some vegetables and cottage cheese to use as dip. Finally some Tomato juice to wash it down.

" **Does he really have to eat so much food that has such a strong smell?" **Inner Sakura complained as Sasuke munched away without a care in the world, While sitting unnaturally close to the pinkette.

_' He keeps staring at me.' _Sakura thought as she caught Sasuke looking at her from the corner of his eye. He quickly turned his head with a blush and let out a light cough and went back to eating. Sasuke instantly went on to looking like a traditional Uchiha.

_' Is he trying to act like I didn't catch him staring?' _Sakura asked with disbelief. As Sasuke did tried to act like Sakura didn't caught him staring at her.

" **At least Naruto had the balls to smile when he was caught checking us out."** Inner Sakura said as memories of such times came to Sakura. It brought a light smile to the pinkette that Sasuke caught which cause him to blush. More than likely thinking she was smiling because of him.

_' It's because Naruto never cared about who would learn about him liking us. He... he wasn't ashamed of the feelings he had for me.' _Sakura thought with a sad tone. She wasn't blind to see how her relationship with the golden blond was changing. Thanks to all her time alone she was able to think properly and her mind did not like what it was figuring out.

" **What? Had? No! That's not possible!"** Inner Sakura yelled with disbelief.** " Naruto didn't had feelings for us, He Still Has Feelings for us! He won't ever stop loving us!"** Inner Sakura yelled in hopes of reassuring herself but only making Sakura look sadly to the ground.

_' I don't think that's true.' _Sakura sad as the image of Naruto holding Ino came to her mind. Jealousy and pain filling her heart at how Naruto had tried so hard to hurt her. She couldn't understand why he would do something like that. She had thought he cared about her since he saved her from Kakashi._ ' Why would he do that?' _Sakura asked herself as she tried to shake the images of a smirking Naruto from her head. She had been able to feel the satisfaction radiating of the golden blond as he took control of Ino.

" **I.. I don't know."** Inner Sakura said as she was overwhelmed by the feelings of betrayal thanks to Naruto's actions.

' I hate to say it but I really miss that golden haired knucklehead. Life isn't the same without him.' Sakura thought as she looked at her can of tea. An air of depression easily radiating from her for the world to see.

" Sakura is something wrong?" Sasuke said with worry making Sakura want to gag. Unfortunately for the Uchiha he had tried to make a connection a little too fast. On any other occasion Sakura would have loved Sasuke noticing her distressed. However at the moment Sasuke was almost finish with finishing a bite from of his sandwiches. Meaning there was still a bit in his mouth when he decided to talk.

Sakura felt her insides turn as the smell of the fish, vegetables, and cottage cheese hit her nose. She instantly tilted her body from Sasuke to try to get away from the smell. Not knowing that her reaction caused a strange spark to ignite in Sasuke.

" Wha-wha-what is-is go-go-going on with Sa-Sa-Saku-Sakura-san?" Hinata asked.

" Whoa!" Kiba said when a wind blew certain smells to his nose making him react the same way as Sakura. His team instantly looking at Kiba for an explanation. " His breath reeks." Kiba said as Akamaru also whimpered from the smell.

" I haven't smelled something that bad since Choji's last birthday when he had that Deluxe Akimichi bento." Kiba said as the memory hit his teammates. They had remembered that day, it was not a pleasant one, especially when Choji's body hadn't reacted properly to different variety of food. It made him extremely gassy, an experience they did not want to live again. If the gas didn't come out from one hole it came out of another.

" Then Sakura?" Shino asked as they looked at the pinkette quickly get up and excuse herself to the bathroom.

" Sakura has always been one of the more sensitive girls in our school. Her mother is a neat freak and always has scented candles in their house. She wasn't made to deal with such smells." Kiba said making the eyes of his teammates to grow.

" I'm sure it isn't that bad." Kurenai said before going to talk to Kakashi about her team helping his to finish since his team was missing a Genin.

" Kakashi does your team needs help to finish?" Kurenai asked.

" I don't know, do you think you're team needs help?" Kakashi asked the lone Uchiha.

" No." Sasuke said with strength and a little too loud to stress his point. Making a strong blast of breath hit Kurenai since he had bothered to look at her.

_' How long has that poor girl been suffering through this?' _Kurenai thought as Sasuke went back to finishing his cottage cheese.

" Then don't let me waste any more of your time." Kurenai said before she made a quick retreat. Kakashi only chuckled since he knew what had bothered his fellow Jounin.

_' I've smelled worse, Sasuke is going to have to do a lot worse than this to affect me.'_ Kakashi thought as he ignored Sasuke's breathe.

+-*/\*-+

" Looks like you were a hit." Iruka said as the academy students left to their home while Naruto stood at his side.

" If you say so, all I did was throw some chakra around, nothing really special." Naruto said making Iruka look at him with awe.

_' He spent four hours pampering those kids by transforming into anything they asked. Making enough clones to help them one on one and having to do constant Kawarimi when they would suddenly attack him. It's a good thing Naruto is so good at it, otherwise he would have been hurt. Then again they were only using wooden weapons.'_ Iruka thought as he looked at Naruto with pride, however he couldn't stop the frown from finding its way to his face._ ' With so much chakra... he could have graduated long ago if I had cared enough to actually help him. He could have been doing real missions instead of being burned alive only to survive as a cripple. All I keep doing is failing him.'_ Iruka thought with regret.

" I'm guessing my mission is finished?" Naruto asked making Iruka look away from the blond. Now that there was no one around the man could hear Naruto's need to spend as little time with the Chuunin as possible.

" You're done for the day, I'll turn the mission report to Hokage-sama myself. Why don't you go home and rest, you did use a lot of chakra after all." Iruka said with a smile as Naruto walked towards the exit.

" I don't need you to pity me Umino." Naruto suddenly said as he stood half way to the exit. He refused to look at Iruka. " I don't blame you, but I can't waste my time doing nothing when I got so much work to do." Naruto said as he looked at his free hand. _' I need to grow strong, so much stronger and then the old man will have to move me to a different team. I need to free myself of that curse. I will free myself.' _The golden blond thought as he clutched his hand with strength as the smiling face of Sakura filled his mind. He growled before using all of his mental power to destroy the image that was bringing pain to his heart. The reason being is that any time he thought about the pinkette it would lead to her kiss with Sasuke. Each time it appeared Sakura would embrace the lone Uchiha more than what she originally had.

" I understand and I'm sorry if I upset you." Iruka said and got no respond from his former student. All he could do was watch Naruto while a thousand 'what if' questions filled his mind._ ' I failed him again... right now he needs guidance not an __over protective failure of a Chuunin. I guess he understands the dangers of being a Shinobi more than I gave him credit for. It wouldn't surprise me if the hospital had sent some senior Shinobi to help Naruto understand the future problems he was going to experience.' _The man thought before going to work, an endless feeling of regret engulfing his heart.

" Finished already?" Kakashi asked as he noticed Naruto walking through the bazaar while carrying a shopping bag full on instant ramen.

" Are you here to help us Naruto?" Sakura asked with a hint of hope, making her team look at her with confusion. She really need him at her side, since Sasuke was causing her too many problems and Naruto was the only one able to keep him in line.

" No." Naruto said making Sakura feel some pain at how Naruto completely destroyed her could be salvation. " Iruka said I should go home and rest because of my chakra being low." Naruto said making Kakashi want to roll his eyes.

_' Yeah and I have only a handful of jutsus in my arsenal.'_ Kakashi thought as he saw his blond student clearly planning to ditch his teammates to their private hell._ ' Is it really that hard to get over the fact those two kissed.'_ Kakashi wondered.

_' Out of the three he had the most potential when it came to teamwork and now it's like he's a different person. How can fix this problem... Obito, Rin, Sensei help me.'_

" You should help anyway." Sasuke said making Naruto glare at him.

" I already did my mission for the day and I don't like the idea of holding your hand to help you finish yours." Naruto said making Sasuke glare at him.

" Wont you please help us Naruto?" Sakura pleaded as Team Seven and Eight looked at her. They had been working for many hours and couldn't deny the fact that the Festival preparations was harder than they had first thought. Especially when the wife of the Daimyo showed up and recommended some changes. Meaning they had to tear down all the work they did and start a new with the things the round woman had wanted. Initially the assignment of setting up decorations was Team Seven's job but Kurenai volunteered her team after seeing the fat woman's unnecessary recommendations. Both teams at the moment would really appreciate some help, but they could see the golden blond had no plans of helping. " Do it for me." Sakura said with a tone and look that she had never shown before. Naruto's eyes instantly grew, his face blushed and his hearth thumped at a speed it had never experienced before. His hand clutched his bag of ramen with new strength.

_' Who the hell does she think she is?' _Hinata thought as she looked at the pinkette demand something from her crush. _'Can't she see he isn't suppose to push himself? Its the reason why Hokage-sama gave him an easier mission. Naruto needs our help, we can't stress his body anymore than it already is.' _Hinata thought as she wanted to Jyuuken the pinkette to save her Naruto.

Naruto's reaction to Sakura was an odd one, his mind wanted to strike the pink haired girl for asking in such away. He planned to reject her request, after all Kakashi hadn't placed him back to work. He had no reason to help, he didn't want to help and the glare he gave his crush showed what was on his mind.

" Fine." Naruto said after a sigh making the eyes of everyone to grow. Sakura had won, she was going to get what she wanted and Naruto knew there was nothing stopping him from giving it to her. His resolve now broken, his need for freedom pushed to the back of his mind, as his heart took over once more and lead him to taking care of the one it loved.

" Thank you... Naruto." Sakura said with a smile, a light blush and a tone of gratitude making Naruto want to growl at her. Only to give her a light smile since at the moment he was once again caught under her spell.

_' Well that was interesting.' _Kakashi thought since he had figured Naruto was going to do anything else but help. In fact the Jounin had been prepared to prevent the golden blond from hurting the one that had clearly broken his heart.

_' Isn't that sweet.'_ Kurenai thought as she looked at the blond and pinkette work together. Naruto had originally planned to work on his own but Sakura had stuck to him since she knew Sasuke wouldn't come near them thanks to his rivalry with Naruto. Not to mention she was grateful to Naruto for helping her and wanted to make sure that she still had a place in his heart.

" I got it." Naruto said after Sakura tried to lift a few trash bags that were over filled with trash and wasted decorations. The two teams had been forced to change things once more since the Daimyo's fat Wife decided that the old decorations had been better. Naruto would have killed her if Kakashi hadn't placed a hand on his shoulders. What had shocked Naruto the most was the fact Sakura had gently held his injured arm to give him some kind of comfort and support. The act had left all the Genin confused since Haruno Sakura did not do that for Uzumaki Naruto. However everyone else saw it as a bit romantic with how the two looked. Sakura was too close and used too many hands to make her seem like something greater than a friend.

The reason she did it was because she didn't want Naruto getting in a fight with the Daimyo's guard after all the work they did that day. The way the two looked had left Kakashi chuckling and Kurenai mouthing her thoughts about how cute the two Genin looked when together. Her words making Naruto and Sakura blush, while Hinata and Sasuke glared at the one part of the pair of Genin they didn't like. Kiba and Shino felt bad for Hinata but understood that Naruto was allowed to follow any path he wanted, they also understood that nothing had officially happened between their classmates so Hinata still had a chance.

" Thanks Naruto, I'm a little tired." Sakura said with a smile that made Naruto's heart grow in strength.

" Don't worry about it." Naruto said as he turned his head to hide his blush. The entire afternoon he couldn't fight the feelings Sakura had triggered once again. He didn't want to admit it but being with her just felt right, even if he knew he was better off without her.

"I'll walk with you." Sakura said as she grabbed his ramen bag, since after throwing the trash away the two teams were going to be allowed to go home.

" Let's change trash Dobe." Sasuke said making Naruto and Sakura to turn to him. " My bags are lighter and you could use all the help you can get." Sasuke said making Naruto glare at him, Sasuke Naturally returned it. The two teams were shocked when eight clones appeared out of thin air and took all the trash bags at once.

" You're right Teme, I could use all the help I can get. Lucky for me I now got someone I can trust to do the job right." Naruto said with venom as he took his ramen bag from Sakura, since a clone had taken the trash bags he had originally had.

The golden blond and his clones hurried to the local dump to get rid of the remains of their mission.

" If Naruto could make solid clones why didn't he do that earlier?" Kiba asked with annoyance.

" Naruto had a mission earlier to show jutsus off to the academy." Sakura said making Team Eight look at her. They knew Naruto was helping at the academy they just didn't know what he was doing to help.

" It's a very draining Job and Naruto must have just now developed enough chakra to make those clones. It wouldn't surprise me if they disburse at the dump before they sort all the trash." Kakashi said making Hinata's eyes to fill with worry, as her team wanted to help the golden blond. " He'll be fine, Naruto is a lot stronger than he looks." Kakashi said with a tone showing to leave his student alone. The man knew what Naruto needed from his peers and the way they had been reacting wasn't it. Of course he was oddly proud of how Sakura handled the situation.

" You want me to walk you home." Sasuke said making everyone look at him with disbelief as he looked at his pink haired teammate.

" No thanks, I'm... I'm going to go keep Naruto company." Sakura said making the eyes of her fellow Genin to grow with disbelief.

" Sakura wait." Sasuke as he reached out for the pinkette only to have Kakashi stop his hand. " Let her make her choice Sasuke, you have no right to take that from her." Kakashi said with a strict tone making the loyal Uchiha to glare at him.

" Whatever." Sasuke grunted after seeing all eyes on him. The genin wondering what Kakashi meant while Kurenai let out a light glare. He soon left home since he didn't have any other reason to bother with the,

" He wouldn't have done that... would he? I mean... he knows better, right?" Kurenai asked the copy ninja after she couldn't sense Sasuke.

"All I know is that his father was famous for it." Kakashi said making Kurenai's eyes to grow.

" Famous for what?" Kiba asked but received no answer.

_' Fugaku was famous for being a wife beater.' _The two Jounin thought as their mind filled with rumors about how the Uchiha clan treated its females that couldn't develop the Sharingan. Kakashi disappeared with a swirl of leaves as Kurenai sent her Genin home to rest.

" Why are you here?" Naruto asked as he walked towards the dump with Sakura.

" I just wanted to spend some time with you." Sakura said making Naruto look at her with one eye, he didn't want to risk locking both of them with her emerald orbs. " We've been teammates for a month and it feels like I know you less than when we were in the academy." Sakura said making Naruto frown.

" You didn't know me during the academy." Naruto said making Sakura lightly chuckle.

" Probably, but there was a few things I did know." Sakura said with a smile as she stopped walking. " I knew you never gave up and if I had given you the chance you would have made a great friend." Sakura said making Naruto's eyes to grow. He couldn't help but instantly turn to her to see what she was saying. But more importantly to make sure it was her saying it.

" I heard about all the times you took the blame when you and the others messed around. It was something I liked about you, even if you were an orange loving baka." Sakura said while sticking her tongue out a him making herself cuter than Naruto could ever remember.

" Why are you saying this?" Naruto asked as Sakura walked up to him.

" **Because I need you at my side!" **Inner Sakura yelled making Sakura blush in embarrassment.

" I guess what I want to say... is that... I want to be your friend Uzumaki Naruto. And I'm sorry if I did something that upset you... so please don't be so cold towards me." Sakura said as her face filled with sadness. She instantly clutched the clothes over her heart. " This last month has been the hardest on me, I can't count the times I wanted to quit." Sakura said making Naruto's eyes to grow with disbelief.

" Kakashi-sensei is a lazy jerk, Sasuke-kun only cares about training, and you... you stopped talking to me. My mom doesn't even want me playing ninja anymore... I'm doing the best I can but its never enough." Sakura said with a tone Naruto didn't want to hear in her voice. " I don't know what to do." Sakura said as she let out a few tears since her problems were overwhelming her and she had no one to rely on.

" Sakura..." Naruto said making the pinkette look at him with disbelief. She had never heard him say her voice in such a way much less with so much mixed feelings.

" I..." Naruto said as he looked at her form that needed to gain strength from him. " I'm sorry." Naruto said as he turned and started to walk away from his teammate. Sakura's eyes filled with tears as she saw his retreating back, she couldn't believe Naruto had tossed her to the side just like that. Her Inner self filled with silence over the fact that Naruto was no longer responding in the way she needed him to.

_' Please don't leave me Naruto... I need you.' _Sakura thought as her heart felt something she hadn't experienced before. It was familiar feeling one that she had locked away long ago. An image of a younger and dirtier blond filled her eyes, his walk nearly identical to that of the one in front of her now.

" I'll try to be there for you..." Naruto said making Sakura's eyes to grow. " I'm sorry for being such a bad teammate, things haven't been right since the graduation exams... give me some time to clear my head. Then we will see what happens." Naruto said making Sakura fill with hope.

" Thank you Naruto! You don't know how much this means to me." Sakura said while wanting to walk his side only to stop when Naruto raised his hand with his ramen bag. She instantly stopped.

" I'll see you tomorrow Sakura-chan... go home and rest. I know you need it more than me." Naruto said making the pinkette blush.

" But what about our mission?" Sakura asked.

" Trust me... when I say I got everything under control." Naruto said making Sakura sigh before turning to leave.

" A little rest wouldn't hurt you. Shinobi might be nothing more than a living tool but it doesn't mean we are indestructible." Sakura said before leaving, she liked the idea of becoming Naruto's friend but she had expected for things to return to how it used to be.

" Trouble in paradise." Danzo said as he came out a store. Showing a face Naruto didn't like. The man clearly had been listening to what was happening to the two Genin.

" This place is anything but paradise." Naruto said making Danzo want to glare at him. He didn't like people insulting his village, especially when they weren't suppose to be able to do such things.

" I came to see how your training is going. And to congratulate you on passing Kakashi's exam, you performance was far greater than that of Sasuke." Danzo said making Naruto turn to him.

" The training is going well, and thank you for your support. Is there anything I can do for you." Naruto said making Danzo smirk. The golden blond knew why Danzo was there, it was time to cash in the favor Naruto owed him.

" Actually there is." Danzo said while helping Naruto find his way to the path that the bandaged man would one day regret.

**+-*/\*-+**

**+-*/\*-+**

**Thank You for reading and I hope you enjoy. Sorry for any grammar and spelling problems. And I promise that the next chapter will be to your liking if you find this one lacking. Plus their will be some action. **

**Finally in my defense its more than likely Naruto has no idea how his parents sounded or looked but I thought it would be nice if he used them to show off. Anyway please be patient as the life of the new Mandarin unravels.**


	10. Playing with Snakes

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Chapter 10 : Playing with Snakes**

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**A/N: If you read my GTTK story already then you can skip this. If not knock your self out.**

**...**

**GatsuBerk: Hey Everyone... Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth like that but now I'm back... from outer space... **

**...**

**Okay I wasn't in outer space but I will admit shit hit the fan and well shit happened. I would have loved to post up my updates for everyone but unfortunately my computers, my flash drives and I weren't in the same district anymore. And for a moment I think we weren't in the same country... Long Story short, it took a while for me to return home, but your reviews made me feel a warm and tingly inside when I only had my ghetto phone to keep me connected to the word. Now I'm back to settle my vendetta so I hope you guys enjoy my work even if I wasn't able to touch it up a bit... if not... well it sucks to be me... I'm sure someone will like it... hopefully... **

**...**

**Read. Review... make it tasteful and all that good stuff... you guys know the drill. Thanks again for reading I hope to update soon... but that bastard of a fan put shit in places it shouldn't be.,,,, Vendetta!**

**+-*/\*-+**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

**Jutsu**

_**Last Time on Mark of Failure:**_

" _This place is anything but paradise." Naruto said making Danzo want to glare at him. He didn't like people insulting his village, especially when they weren't suppose to be able to do such things._

_" I came to see how your training is going. And to congratulate you on passing Kakashi's exam, you performance was far greater than that of Sasuke." Danzo said making Naruto turn to him._

" _The training is going well, and thank you for your support. Is there anything I can do for you?" Naruto said making Danzo smirk. The golden blond knew why Danzo was there, it was time to cash in the favor Naruto owed him._

_" Actually there is." Danzo said while helping Naruto find his way to the path that the bandaged man would one day regret._

+-*/\*-+

Uzumaki Naruto was not in a good mood. He was currently traveling along side of a man that clearly did not have what was best for him in his mind. He didn't trust Danzo, he could never trust the old war hawk... however the man would help him gain power and that was something he needed to live the legacy that had been given to him. He was a descendant of the Mandarin it was the only answer he could come up with on why the ring reacted to him. And as his descendant he would do anything to reach the level of power that man had. He needed it if he was to reach his goals.

However Danzo's actions was only the icing on Naruto's cake of self hate. He hated the fact Danzo was leading him like some kind of dog but he hated more the fact Sakura had been able to undo a month of defensives he had built around his heart. He had worked so hard, meditated for many hours, casted away broken dreams, and yet he could not hurt that pink haired girl.

_' That Bitch!' _Naruto thought with rage as he saw the new side of Sakura flashing through his eyes_. ' Who the fuck does she think she is? I don't want her, she's nothing more than a plague! Her uselessness has no limits and will only get me killed! Her fickle mind will flip back to Sasuke the moment I open my heart and that is something I can't allow!'_ Naruto thought as the kiss between his teammates flashed through his head.

_' So why is it she can find her way to my heart with such ease? Why is she the one I want the most? Why do I need her to love me?' _Naruto thought as he did a good job of hiding his emotions as he walked. _' Why can't I move on? Why can't I free myself from her spell? Why I can't I say no to her?' _

" We have reached our destination." Danzo said making Naruto look at a building.

" The Hospital?" Naruto asked making Danzo smirk.

" There is someone I want you to meet." Danzo said making Naruto wonder what the man had planned. It was Friday, he was dismissed from work until Monday and he had a bag of Ramen begging him to be eaten. He could smell it's aroma after the three minutes they finished. He could taste its sweet broth after slurping down its perfect noodles.

_' Stupid Tasty Ramen.' _Naruto thought as he noticed a room with Shinobi looking at him with a weird face. At the moment Danzo had lead Naruto to three Genin to help nurture the blond. Three Genin that were not as loyal to their village as they should be.

" Naruto this man is Kabuto and this is his team." Danzo said as Naruto looked at the glasses wearing medic. " You will be joining them on a special mission for our village." Danzo said making the two tougher looking men to glare at the war hawk. Clearly they wanted to say something but they didn't.

_' I wonder what has them acting like good little soldiers? Do they fear the old fart, the nerd, or something else?' _Naruto thought as he studied the three men before him.

" Hello Naruto-kun I must say it is a pleasure to meet you." Kabuto said with a smile as he adjusted his glasses.

" Remember our deal Kabuto. Neither you, your teammates or your master is allowed to sink their fangs into him. And I mean that in every way possible." Danzo said with a glare making Kabuto continue to smile.

" Of course, and there really is no need to worry. I'll take good care of my Kouhai, after all who wouldn't want to support a future Hokage." Kabuto said making Danzo continue to glare. Naruto knew that something was not right, but he told Misty that he would walk a different path... the path to true power and this meeting was something he would need to overcome.

" So why am I here?" Naruto asked.

" That's a very easy question to answer Naruto-kun." Kabuto said with a tone that one would use on a brother making Naruto raise his eyebrow. " You see team Seven isn't what it should be."

" You can say that again." Naruto said making Kabuto smirk as Danzo left. The man knew his wishes would be followed by the Sound spies, he just didn't bother to consider how loyal Naruto was to him.

" Normally all teams with Rookie Genin continue to do team training, even during the weekends. They however aren't allowed to take missions on the weekends to prevent the Genin from being pushed too hard. Unfortunately for you and your little girlfriend..." Kabuto said with a smile.

_' Does everyone know about my feelings for Haruno?' _Naruto thought with venom as reality slapped him in the face for having feelings for the pinkette.

" The council has decided you two are obsolete and can be cast aside to allow Kakashi to train Sasuke." Kabuto said making Naruto's eyes to grow. He soon started to glare which was just what Kabuto wanted. '_ The boy isn't stupid, his eyes have been opened to the vision of the real Konoha. I can mold him to become the perfect tool for Orochimaru-sama.'_

" Your point?" Naruto said making Kabuto's eyes to grow. Even his teammates had been shocked at the words that came out of Naruto's mouth. They had expected him to throw a tantrum at the unfairness of the village. Only for them to offer him power and training that Konoha would normally refuse him.

" You see Danzo and certain others feel that you can do so much more. They aren't blind to your skills and accomplishments like others. Which is why starting now you will be joining my team on our missions. Every Friday you are to meet up with us for a job that will take us the weekend to accomplish. This job is special and must be handled with extreme caution. Which is why I guaranteed you would have the time to accomplish it." Kabuto thought with a smirk.

+-*/\*-+

_** Meanwhile in the House of one Uchiha Sasuke**_

" What the hell is this?" Sasuke said as he held a box.

" Congratulation you have won a free Jutsu thanks to a lottery held within the market association of Konohagakure. Enjoy gaining one step closer to accomplishing your dreams." Sasuke said as he read the note attached to the box. He threw it away before opening the box. A cloud of powder soon engulfed him.

" This has Naruto's name written all over it." Sasuke growled only to scratch himself. He was surprised to find a real scroll, he took it to go train after reading all ANBU Captain knew this jutsu. All ANBU Captains including a certain man he planned to meet again. Unfortunately for the last Uchiha the scroll did not tell him that the ANBU Captains had Five time his chakra capacity.

With his ridiculous need for power Sasuke would drive himself into Chakra exhaustion in three hours. Only to have Kakashi find him the next day. And thanks to the powder that fell on him his chakra was not going to be returning any time soon. Kakashi would naturally leave a message in his students mailboxes telling them training wasn't needed, instead of speaking to them in person.

The box and scroll had special seals that would destroy them to ensure no one was able to trace the items back to Kabuto.

+-*/\*-+

" So when do we leave?" Naruto asked making Kabuto smile as one of his teammates threw a bag at him.

" Right now." Kabuto said before adjusting his glasses.

+-*/\*-+

" By now that young Mandarin should be leaving the village." Misty said to herself as she enjoyed her drink while sitting in her chair.

" I hope he appreciates this little opportunity I made for him." Misty said since she had given Danzo information that would be beneficial to Konoha and Naruto. " Because if he doesn't I'll make sure to show him why I'm the queen of the underworld."

+-*/\*-+

_' Well this is a weird way to throw your enemies off guard.'_ Naruto thought as they reached a Bar that doubled as an Inn. Kabuto had given him a scroll which contained a generic Chuunin outfit. Naruto was enjoying wearing the attire even if he wouldn't admit it to others. The only difference was the black bandages covering his right arm that was hidden thanks to the Chuunin long sleeved shirt. The only thing showing was his hand but even then it had platted gloves that helped hide the bandages. Instead of seeing it as a weakness his enemies would think it was a weak attempt at being stylish.

" Good to have you join us Naruto-kun." Kabuto said with a smile as his teammates looked at the golden blond with shock.

_' Holy shit he looks just like the Yondaime.' _The two traitors thought as Kabuto now understood why Danzo gave them those outfits.

" Our mission is a simple one."Kabuto said as he adjusted his glasses and pulled out the mission scroll.

" We have gotten intelligence that the Daimyo of Earth is having some treasures moved. In reality the old bastard is going to show them off to one of his friends. Since no one hardly ever messes with the Daimyos the level of escort this caravan has will be low. Our mission is to help some teams from Grass to attack. They will be the distraction, when the chance arrives we are going to swoop in and take them out with these." Kabuto said as he unsealed a scroll making his three teammates to give off a dark smile.

+-*/\*-+

Kurostsuchi was not a happy Genin. At the moment she was escorting some of the Daimyo's crap since she happen to be friends with the man's daughter. She appreciated the thought but she was a real Kunochi she had training to do and did not want to be given special treatment. They had been traveling through rice country to reach some other back water country. Nothing exciting had happened and to make things worse she had to cancel a date with one of the few guys with the balls to ask her out. Sometimes she hated being part of a famous family.

" Enemy Raid!" A Jounin yelled as many umbrellas began to rain down senbon on the caravan. She quickly set up an earth Barrier as the sound of metal piercing earth, flesh, wood, cloth and metal sounded around her.

_' What's going on? My father said missions likes this never have any problems.'_ Kurostsuchi thought as the sound of fighting soon escalated around her.

She lowered her barrier and soon sent a spear of earth towards a Grass nin. Some confidence filled her as she saw the Chuunin fall to the ground dead. Her teammate was thankful for the assist.

" Get down!" She heard her Jounin-sensei yell after half an hour of fighting the Grass nin. She made another barrier, the last thing she saw was Kunai with tags raining down on the battle field. She knew the damage that was to come and quickly melted into the ground. As soon as the ground stopped shaking she came out along with her fellow Ninja that were able to do the same jutsu as her.

" Oh shit!" An Iwa Chuunin yelled as he noticed a ball of Kunai with a tag. The eight unique bombs exploded sending Kunai all over the Caravan heavily injuring anyone foolish enough to stay within its range.

" Ahhhh!" Kurostsuchi yelled in pain as a Kunai dove itself into her leg. She quickly scanned the area and saw two more Genin had been killed while everyone else had been injured. The only one without injuries was her Sensei.

" Those bombs were from Sky Village." The man said with disbelief only to have a Kunai at his feet explode into a cloud of smoke. He gasped in pain as he felt a Kunai stab into his heart. He looked at the face of his killer and instantly filled with horror.

_' No... he's dead... this is impossible.'_ The Jounin thought as his life left him. His last thoughts being about the nightmare that would soon plague his village.

" This battle is over." Kurostsuchi heard the Yondaime clone say as her allies began to get butchered. She turn to run only to see another golden haired Konoha nin. Her eyes grew in disbelief as her frightened mind came up with only one answer.

_' Hiraishin.' _Kurostsuchi tried to say her thoughts out loud but had the sapphire eyed teen strike at her stomach.

" You didn't kill her." Naruto said to his clone.

" It was an unnecessary death." The clone said making Naruto look at the black haired Kunochi.

" I hope your decision doesn't end up bitting me in the ass." Naruto said as he heard battle continue around him. He ignored it since a few more clones remained hidden as Kunai. They would make sure nothing bad happened to him. At the moment he had other things to do.

Following the descriptions Misty had given him Naruto found the wagon that was to contain the thing he needed. He entered the damaged transport and was a bit shocked to see his goal was where he wanted it.

" That belongs to the Daimyo!" An Iwa Genin yelled after Naruto smashed the glass case holding the ring.

" And now it belongs to me." Naruto said as he turned and got out of the shadows making the Genin fill with fright.

Before Naruto or his opponent could react Kabuto slit the throat of the Genin with a chakra scalpel.

" Make some clones and have them sneak out some of the smaller things. We might have worked along side of Grass but that is no reason to let them have a fair share. Have your clones meet us at our next camp." Kabuto said making Naruto nod his head. A single clone appeared and then vanished. It made Kabuto confused only to see four more Narutos enter the Caravan they were in and raid it. He could hear similar events happening all over the battlefield.

" What's with the smoke screen?" Naruto asked making Kabuto adjust his glasses. " An Iwa nin used it to escape." Kabuto said with a smile making Naruto smirk.

Half an hour later the forces from Konoha and Kusagakure stood in the remains of the caravan while enjoying a meal. Naruto kept to himself as he watched the bastards from Grass humiliate the Iwa nin.

_' They act like they did all the fighting. Assholes would have died if we hadn't stepped in.' _Naruto thought as he ate a ration bar and looked upon the real sights of being in his line of work.

" Those that need medical help kill them. Those that can walk on their own break their arms. And the women..." A Grass Jounin said making the few Iwa Kunochi pale and fill with fright. " Can show us their appreciation for being left alive." The man said making Naruto fill with disgust. He could see Kabuto's teammates planning to join the action. He gained some respect for Kabuto since the man showed he didn't plan this or planned to join them. If only Naruto knew the real reason why Kabuto didn't flow that way, then he wouldn't have respect the triple agent.

Kurostsuchi struggled to the best of her abilities as two Grass Genin began to lead her from her fellow captives. She could hear her allies being injured or enter the first phases of rape. Without warning two Kunai landed behind her would be rapers the tags exploded with minimal effort making them fly in pain. Their lives wouldn't be in danger due to the sudden attack. Kurostsuchi fell in front of her fellow ninja only to look on with disbelief.

" What the fuck are you doing?" Naruto said with rage as he walked towards the grass nin and the Iwa Kunochi.

" Us? What about you?" A grass nin said only to have Naruto clutch his neck. The teen instantly began to choke as Naruto crushed his wind pipe. Most were shock Naruto had so much power in his left arm. Naruto was thankful for the Mandarin scrolls helping him build his strength.

" Bastard!" The second Genin yelled before launching a weak ball of fire. Naruto's eyes narrowed before throwing the body of the Grass nin into the flames as a shield. He did it in such a carefree nature, so naturally that it looked like Naruto had ignored the Katon attack and had merely thrown away a piece of trash. The golden blond didn't even pay the second genin any attention as he walked towards the Iwa nin.

" There's a reason why I spared her life." Naruto said as he stood in front of the frightened Kunochi. The Grass nin wanted to complain only to hear Kabuto chuckle.

" My my Naruto-kun, what will your little cherry blossom say when we get back home?" Kabuto said with a tone full of humor.

" I don't care what she has to say. I do what I want, where I want, when I want, and how I want." Naruto said as he turned from his Sempai and looked at Kurostsuchi. His blue cold eyes locking onto the pink eyes of the Iwa nin.

" Get up." Naruto ordered making the Genin scoot back.

" Do it." Kurostsuchi heard a female Chuunin whisper. " He isn't like them, he won't hurt you." The Kunochi said making Kurostsuchi trust her words. Since the Chuunin had been a rape victim and knew how to identify others that would do such a thing. Which is why the young beauty did as she was told but showed she didn't want to do it.

" Now that the drama is take care of." The Kusa Jounin said with a smirk only to gargle his blood as Kabuto slit his throat.

" You shouldn't be touching another person's property. We agreed to half of the profits, and our alliance says that we have dibs on all Iwa nin." Kabuto said making the Kusa Shinobi fill with shock along with the Iwa nin.

" Naruto-kun clearly had the right idea... we need to show the trash who is really in charge." Kabuto said as he and his teammates slaughtered the weakened Kusa nin. They began to fall to their knees thanks to a poison Kabuto slipped in their food. Its why he had his team eat supplies they brought from their village.

_' Fools should have spent more time playing ninja than acting like party animals. One victory and it already goes to their heads. No wonder they will never become one of the great Shinobi Villages.' _Kabuto chuckled at his thoughts as he looked towards the direction Naruto had lead Kurostsuchi. He already knew what the blond had planned. In the end it would help Orochimaru accomplish his goals which is why he allowed Naruto to do what he wanted.

" Leave." Naruto said after using a Kunai to free Kurostsuchi's hands. She stared at him with disbelief as the blond turned to head to the camp sight Kabuto had marked.

" That's it?" Kurostsuchi said making Naruto turn his head to look at her. She was clutching her hands with enough force to draw her blood.

" You killed my Sensei, you slaughtered my friends! And you think I'm going to thank you for sparing me?" Kurostsuchi said with tears making Naruto turn.

" I never wanted your gratitude." Naruto said only to have his eyes grow as the Iwa Genin vanished into a body flicker.

_' Shushin?' _Naruto thought with disbelief while cursing Kakashi for refusing to teach him anything useful.

" I don't care what you want! I want you dead!" The Granddaughter of the Tsuchikage yelled as she slammed into Naruto with a Kunai. He grunted in pain as it drove into the upper part of his left chest. He had been able to redirect the attack to a place that wouldn't give him an instant kill. They fell to his back and he received three punches before kicking the enraged female off.

" Die!" Kurostsuchi yelled as she charged Naruto again. Naruto growled his rage at his clone for not killing her. He waited until the last moment before spinning and smacking the Iwa nin with a backhand. Kurostsuchi yelled in pain as she hit the ground. Her agony grew as Naruto kicked her stomach making her fly a few meters before hitting the ground.

" Stupid Girl." Naruto growled as he stormed towards the Kunochi. He bended down and lifted her head by her hair.

" You actually think you can beat me?" Naruto said making the teen look at him. Her eyes filled with fright as she saw her kunai begin to be pushed out, as the wound on Naruto's chest let out smoke. The Chuunin vest had done its job making sure minimal damage reached the golden blond. His healing abilities was taking care of the rest.

" Whether you live or die means nothing to me." Naruto said as he pulled tighter on her hair making her cry out. " Now pay attention because I won't be saying it again." Naruto said as he slammed her face in the ground. " You are nothing to me. You will always be nothing when compared to me." Naruto said making her sob as she laid on the floor. '_ For I am the Mandarin you nameless bitch.' _

" Which is why you will be a good little bitch and lay there while I go home and do something actually worth my time." Naruto said with hate as his mind filled with rage when he brought up his home. He knew he wasn't going to do anything while in Konoha besides being treated like shit. But outside of Konoha's walls he could do whatever he wanted. Meaning he now had an outlet to let his rage out on.

" Next time you dare defy me I'll kill you. No if and our butts. Your life will forever be in my hands and there is nothing you can do to stop it." Naruto said as he heard Kurostsuchi crying. He let go of her hair and stood with a bit of regret filling his heart but he couldn't let her see it.

" Tch, pathetic excuse of a..." Naruto said as he walked away from the kunochi only to have her appear once more in front of his eyes.

_' Shit!'_ Naruto thought as he looked at the die hard determination in her eyes. _' I shouldn't have turned my back on her again.'_

_' What the hell?' _Naruto thought as the black haired Teen smashed her lips on his. He arms instantly wrapping around his shoulders as she poured her desire into his body. Naruto could only stand mystified since she was a few centimeters taller than him. It was at that very moment that his balls decided to fully drop. With a glaze in his eyes Naruto placed his hands on her hips and began to return her kiss. It wasn't long until Kurostsuchi's tongue began to ask for entry. Naruto allowed it and was soon tasting the Iwa Girl as she moved his hands over her ass. He clutched the tender flesh making her moan and soon took over the kiss, making her submit to whatever he was willing to give her. A few minutes later he stopped kissing her making her lean on his body to gain strength.

" What did I just do?" Naruto asked himself as the high of making out finally left him.

_' Sakura-chan is going to be so mad.' _An orange wearing Naruto said only to be kicked in the balls by the new Naruto. It was then beaten into a bloody pulp before being tossed into a wood chipper and its remains thrown into a bowl for Kyuubi to enjoy.

" What the hell do you think your doing you stupid bitch?" Naruto demanded as his training kicked in. He had learned how deadly Kunochi could be and was now worried about having received his first and only Kiss of Death. He quickly grabbed Kurostsuchi's long hair and pulled on it with new force making her fall on her knees.

" Master I'm sorry! I just wanted you to feel good." Kurostsuchi cried since she was hurting from her hair.

" What?" Naruto asked with all the confusion he could gather.

" I didn't mean to offend you master, I should have been a good bitch... please forgive me." Kurostsuchi said making Naruto more confused than before.

" The women in my mother's family have a secret that few in Iwa know about." Kurostsuchi said with embarrassment as Naruto loosened his hold on her hair. " If we find a man worthy of our love we can't help but give everything to him. It's why our clan was nearly wiped out because so many wanted to be with the yellow flash during the last war. Iwa isn't too kind to would be traitors." Kurostsuchi said making Naruto's eyes to grow with disbelief.

" You kidding right? This is some kind of a sick joke to get away, right?" Naruto said as he locked eyes with Kurostsuchi. His eyes grew as he saw no betrayal in her. She just wanted him to be pleased with her actions.

" No master, I can't lie to you... its why those in my family are used in political marriages and their spouses are taught how to trigger our loyalty." Kurostsuchi said as she looked up at him while her tone of voice showed she meant every word.

" I'm yours until the day I die and all I want is to please you. Please let me serve you, let me be useful. Let me be yours" Kurostsuchi begged only to have Naruto let go of her hair. Not expecting to lose his support she fell to the ground and instantly looked up. She could see his eyes conflicting with the things she told him. She knew that those outside of Iwa had many problems understanding her unique psyche but she hoped he would accept her. Otherwise she wouldn't know what to do. Since no one in her clan had ever been rejected, she prayed to her god that she wouldn't be the first.

Naruto on the other hand was near the point of a mental breakdown. One side of him, the caring side, said that owning Kurostsuchi was a bad idea. It was then horribly slaughtered once more by Mandarin Naruto, who said that the real Mandarin had an empire and this was his first step to making his own legacy.

Caring Naruto countered with how would Sakura react. Which then lead to Mandarin saying that by using Kurostsuchi, Naruto would finally free himself of the Curse known as Haruno Sakura.

That last thought sealed Naruto's decision, other than respect and power, the one thing Naruto wanted now the most was freedom, freedom from the one that hurt him the most. He didn't want to give the pinkette the chance to hurt him again.

" Prove your obedience and loyalty." Naruto said making Kurostsuchi's eyes to grow.

" Make your master feel good." Naruto said with a dark tone. He wasn't entirely sure where those words came from, but it felt too good when he said it for him to care. His words instantly making a smile grow on the face of the Iwa nin. She licked her lips as she got on her knees and undid his zipper. Naruto closed his eyes to concentrate on making her work in making him feel good. He didn't noticed his right hand laying itself on her head. Kurostsuchi knew that small act of support was all she needed as proof of his approval. She opened her mouth to take in his manhood, eagerly waiting to prove herself as a good bitch. Especially with a master that was built in a way that demanded to be pleasured by women.

_' Whoa! Didn't think the kid had it in him.' _Kabuto thought as his teammates growled about Naruto being a hypocrite.

" Let's give Naruto-kun some space. He of all people deserves this." Kabuto said making his teammates sigh. Originally the three planned to see why Naruto was taking so long, only to find him in a unique situation. Kabuto had wanted to see how things were going to turn out, which is why he didn't break up the fight. Needless to say the three were left speechless over the fact the girl had given herself to the golden blond. Kabuto's teammates didn't like Naruto but also pitied him thanks to the life he had lived.

_' The only throat I've seen expand like that is Orochimaru-sama's. And are all Jinchuuriki built like that? If I had a video camera I could make one hell of a DVD. I wish I could see Jiraiya-sama's face when he hears about his godson's newest toy.'_ The Medic nin thought before shaking his head and leading the others away. It wouldn't do him any good to think like that, they had a lot of sealing to do and some clean up at the caravan. Lucky for him the Iwa nin were less trouble when they learned his loyalty was to sound. _' I don't sense any Iwa nin near him, they might have no problem with her messing around with someone not from Konoha. Too bad for them Naruto isn't part of Orochimaru-sama's force. But such an insignificant problem can be fixed with ease.' _Kabuto thought with a smile. Had he waited a bit longer he would have seen the Mandarin Ring react and make complicated seals appear on Naruto's right arm. Kurostsuchi and Naruto didn't notice since they were too busy enjoying themselves. It was their first time doing such a thing which is why both had their eyes closed to enjoy the bliss.

+-*/\*-+

_' I heard stories about this before, and saw some perverted stuff in the Hokage's office but nothing amounts to what I just went through.'_ Naruto thought as he hopped while fixing his pants. Kurostsuchi was heading back to Iwa even if she didn't want to. Naruto had given her special orders that she would follow without a second thought. _' And I was only getting head.'_ Naruto thought with awe and disbelief as he rushed towards his grinning teammates.

" Now that your done impregnating that poor girl through her stomach its time to head back." Kabuto said making his teammates smirk while making Naruto frown.

" You morons are just jealous." Naruto said with a smirk making two out of the three traitors glare at him.

" Probably but for now its time to celebrate your first blow job from an enemy Kunochi." Kabuto said making his teammates smirk.

" My first?" Naruto asked making Kabuto smirk.

" You're going to learn Naruto-kun that there is more than money and glory when it comes to being a Shinobi. And I plan to guide you along the way." Kabuto said making Naruto nod his head before the three left.

_' Master came so much, I never heard of a man that can unload like him.' _Kurostsuchi thought with a blush after changing her panties and heading back to her home. She had subconsciously brought pleasure to herself while pleasuring her new master. She let out a moan since she could still feel, taste, smell, hear and picture her acts with Naruto.

" Oh shit! I never learned Master's name!" Kurostsuchi yelled with disbelief and fear.

+-*/\*-+

Once back to the safety of Konoha's village, Team Kabuto hit up the first Bar they could find. They celebrated Naruto becoming a real man. From getting his first kill, betraying allies Konoha didn't care about, gaining a slave, being pleasured by a captured kunochi and now drinking down his first bottle of Sake. Naruto enjoyed the treatment since the men in the bar praised him with their respect. Had Naruto been paying attention he would have noticed no Kunochi were in the bar and the fact that all the men in it were not the ones most people associated with. The bar known as the Runaways was known for serving ninja that had an eighty percent chance of becoming missing nin. Since every Konoha ninja that went rogue had at once been a customer at that bar. Itachi and Orochimaru being the only exception. In fact it had Uchiha Madara that started the tradition.

It was mid Wednesday when Team Seven went knocking to Naruto's home. Sasuke had been released from the hospital and they had been waiting at their training ground for the golden blond. Something none of the prepared members of the team had enjoyed.

Not wanting to wait anymore than usual Kakashi unlocked Naruto's door with a spare key making his students question him with their eyes.

" After I found Sasuke half dead the Hokage felt having this was necessary." Kakashi said making Sakura nod her head as Sasuke blushed for having such an embarrassing thing told to the pinkette. He then questioned why he cared if Sakura learned the truth.

" It's time to wake up Mr. Sunshine." Kakashi said as they entered the one room apartment only to hear snoring coming from the bedroom. They soon went into the room only to have Sakura blush and run out of the room while she suffered a nose bleed. The half asleep Naruto had stood up and unfortunately for team Seven they witnessed Naruto's first morning wood. To make things worse Naruto had been too hot the day before and got rid of all his clothes and covers during his sleep. With his mentally being closer to a man he didn't want to sleep in pajamas anymore.

Kakashi chuckled as Naruto woke up and freaked out. While Sasuke filled with jealous, then swore to take Naruto's manhood to use it as a weapon to kill Itachi. Kakashi didn't fill with jealousy since his sensei had once shown his Namikaze goods. During a friendly trip to a hot springs, which was the closest thing that could rival Naruto. At least the closes thing the Sharingan user knew about. He didn't plan to figure out if there was any bigger since he wasn't Orochimaru. What did shock him was that Naruto could almost surpass his father and would accomplish that task in a few years.

" Now that our team bonding exercise is over its time for some real training." Kakashi said with an eye smile as he looked at his blushing students. Sakura couldn't look at Naruto, because if she did she would picture what she saw. Sasuke kept looking at his groin then at Naruto and Naruto clearly wanted to hang himself. He could only imagine the backlash when others would hear about what happened.

" Lets just get this day over with." Naruto said making Kakashi chuckle.

" You know Naruto some self relief the night before will ensure you don't have another incident like this morning." The man said before he saw his Genin blush more than before. The team soon got to training only to be tortured by Kakashi constantly reminding them of what happened that morning.

_' Sexual Harassment is a form of endurance training for Shinobi.' _Kakashi thought as he nodded towards his own words.

Thursday morning Naruto was surprised to receive a message from Kabuto. It seemed the Hokage was going to send them to a check point the weekend that was coming up. Kabuto left Naruto a scroll on chakra training to help the golden blond train himself.

_' Water walking?'_ Naruto asked himself._ ' I'll worry about that later, right now there is something more important I have to do.'_

On Friday night Naruto was once again going to see Misty. He wanted to thank her and give her something for creating such a wonderful opportunity. After all the threats and danger had been avoided the golden blond finally looked upon the red head.

" I brought you something." Naruto said as he threw a case at her. She caught it with ease and opened it up making her eyes to grow.

" These are the royal jewels of the Daimyo of Earth. They are only to be used during their marriage. Those idiots actually traveled with something this valuable?" Misty asked making Naruto nod his head.

" Ransom it, auction it, melt it, I don't care. Just make sure we make a lot of profit out of it. Along with the rest of this." Naruto said as he unsealed a scroll that made a pile of money, treasure and goods to appear. Her eyes instantly growing at the fortune he had gotten his hands on.

" They were carrying more than what you estimated. I doubt Kabuto, the Kusa nin and the others noticed that they had storage scrolls in the caravan. Otherwise they would have already asked for it." Naruto said making Misty nod her head.

" Don't break my trust woman." Naruto said after Misty snapped her fingers making some workers come from secret pathways and gather the goods.

" This is business my dear Mandarin, you be honest with me and I'll be honest with you. As long as our relationship grows stronger I have no reason to betray you." The woman said making Naruto study her and find only the truth in her eyes.

" Then lets make sure we keep it that way... I wouldn't want to destroy you and start over with some trash that can't do its job half as good as you." Naruto said making Misty wonderer if he had complimented her or insulted her.

" So what are you plans for the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage?" Misty said with a smirk making Naruto confused before he filled with disbelief.

" That chick was the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage?" Naruto asked making Misty nod her head.

" I heard about it from one of my men at Runaways. The description you gave can only be linked towards the Tsuchikage's granddaughter. Lucky for her only the both of us know the secrets of her mother's clan." Misty said making Naruto's eyes to grow.

" Kurostsuchi is a very promising Kunochi, rumored to already have Chuunin abilities but is being held back by her family due to the chance she can react to certain people. I applaud your abilities my dear Mandarin, at this rate it won't be but a few years until the Mandarin Empire returns." Misty said making Naruto smirk. They soon started to talk about how Misty's business was improving thanks to Naruto's money.

" Oh... those Genin you are now working with..." Misty said making Naruto turn after he prepared to leave. " Never turn your back on them. They are traitorous snakes and should never be trusted. Gain everything you can from them but never give them anything in return. Never show them your true skill and never let them learn about your weakness. They will kill you the first chance they get, if you become unpleasant to their eyes." Misty said with what Naruto sensed as a hidden sound of concern.

" Worry not my fiery red head." Naruto said making Misty glare at him. " Those fools have nothing to wield agaisnt me. Continue your search and I will continue to make whatever measly tribute you demand." Naruto said making Misty smirk.

" As you wish my Lord Mandarin." Misty said making Naruto chuckle before he left.

" My Lady should you really be bowing your head to him like that?" A servant that came to collect the money asked. He had waited at his hidden door to inform Misty of the value of things Naruto had brought. " He is nothing more than a brat following a useless dream. You keep building his ego and its going to get him kill."

" Probably." Misty said before throwing a dagger into his arm. The man cried out before falling to his knees and clutching his wound.

" Or I'm paying respect to a man that will soon shake the Shinobi world to its core. Your place is not to question me or advice me. I own you and your job dog is to do as I say." Misty said with rage making the man fear for his life. She snapped her fingers making a few guards to appear.

" Have this fool treated by our doctors. As soon as he is patched up making him do some grunt work. He needs to learn to never over step his boundaries." Misty said making the man fill with fear and disbelief.

" Please My Lady don't do this! Misty-dono! I've been loyal since joining you! Please spare me from this punishment!" The man yelled as he was carried away.

" Fool... if I spare you then I will lose everything to those that would betray me." Misty whispered after her door closed. Regret filling her voice as she wished once more than Kyuubi hadn't weakened her father's group.

_' Rise my dear Mandarin, claim all the power you want, and allow me to live in your shadow. Otherwise my life in this world will soon be short.'_ Misty thought as she went to prepare for those that planned to remove her from her throne. Her only hope being that Naruto would keep true to his word and reward her loyalty. She knew that any new Hokage and Danzo would kill her if they suddenly came to power. Which is why she needed him to take that mantle.

_' All my preparations are complete... and I assume Kakashi-sensei will be more than grateful and keep the others from bothering me.'_ Naruto thought as he finished barricading himself in his home. Seeing no way into his home without permission Naruto sat down in the middle of his living room. Everything had been moved to allow him to work in peace. He gently unraveled the Ring of Earth and looked upon it. It was bulky but well kept. Naruto knew it was the real thing as it would pulse to tempt him to take it.

" I will claim your power as my own. Now yield to your new master!" Naruto said as he grabbed the ring with his right hand and began to pump chakra into it.

_**' Foolish boy... you are the master of nothing. Soon I will walk this earth in a fresh body!' **_The Original Mandarin said as his astral projection looked upon Naruto gaining his power. Unknown to the spirit two blood red eyes was watching him with rage. Its owner unwilling of letting the long forgotten spirit to take its vessel. It liked the path Naruto was taking and would do everything in its power to make sure the boy stayed on it. While the Shinigami watched both to see which of the three souls in the room would become his next meal. Unfortunately for the world the agents of Kami wept for what was becoming of their champion. It seemed that the child of Destiny was planning to take the path of destruction. While Kami watched on without a care in the world.

+-*/\*-+

_** Meanwhile in Limbo **_

" What do you mean we've been removed from the seal?" Uzumaki Kushina yelled as she stood in front of her frightened husband.

" It's the only explanation I can give since both of us are here. I don't know what happened. The last thing I remember was waiting to see if Naruto needed my help to push back Kyuubi. Then this ridiculous wave of fire got to me and the seal." Minato said making Kushina growl before storming off and cussing up a storm. The man feared for whatever bastard had caused their plans to be useless.

" Minato! Sex! Now!" Kushina demanded as Minato knew her rage had been pushed too far.

_' Oh shit! Its like the night we learned her Genin team had been killed! If both of us were alive Naruto would soon be getting a sibling! I love doing this with her but why does it feel like I'm getting rape?'_ The Yellow Flash thought as his wife dominated their love making.

_' Oh right.' _Namikaze Minato thought as chakra chains began to tie him down. Kushina had a very sexy smirk on her face before reminding her husband why it wasn't smart to let a Jinchuuriki build up their sexual frustration. It seemed that the most recent summoner of the Shinigami was not destined to an eternity of pain. Just and eternity of being the sex slave of a very horny, attractive and dominating Uzumaki... the world would soon learn that Naruto got much more than his die hard attitude and need to rebel agaisnt the world from his mother.

+-*/\*-+

GatsuBerk: You're still here Yay... for those that fear a return to the light by Mandarin Naruto... don't. I have my plans you might not see them now but I plan to make this Naruto unique... hopefully. Ja ne.


	11. Cat Fight Kitty Meow Meow

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Chapter 11 : Cat Fight...Kitty Meow Meow. _( A/N: I once heard a little girl say the second part. It ended up being a part of my top Five cutest things I have ever seen... or heard.)_**

**+-*/\*-+**

_**Last Time on Mark of Failure:**_

" _I will claim your power as my own. Now yield to your new master!" Naruto said as he grabbed the ring with his right hand and began to pump chakra into it._

_**' Foolish boy... you are the master of nothing. Soon I will walk this earth in a fresh body!' **The Original Mandarin said as his astral projection looked upon Naruto gaining his power. _

+-*/\*-+

The most hated blond in Konoha let out a groan as he returned to the land of the living. He got up and and shook his head to help clear his mind. It didn't help much since he was still suffering through the after effects of his newest Mandarin Ring. He let out a hiss as he saw the bandages that had been on his right arm had been destroyed by whatever the Ring did to him while bonding itself to his soul and body.

A small growl came from Naruto's stomach making him forget about the Mandarin and its rings since he needed ramen. He quickly gathered his things and showered to meet the world. Half an hour later Naruto came out of his shower with no signs of the activities he did this weekend. Naruto grabbed the scroll Kabuto left him before rushing out of his home. He didn't bother locking it since there wasn't anything of value in it.

As he traveled through the streets of Konohagakure he learned that only a single day had passed since he endured the test the Ring of Earth gave him. Which made him wonder if when he gained new rings would he need less time to bend them to his will.

" Good afternoon Ayame-neechan." Naruto said making the ramen cook smile at him. Since he didn't see the old man he figured the guy was buying supplies to continue running his favorite place.

" Hello Naruto I hope your day has been a good one. We missed you yesterday since you never showed up." Ayame said with a bit of worry. It was well known that the golden blond didn't go a single day without visiting the ramen stand.

" Sorry for worrying you Neechan but I was training yesterday and lost track of time. I finally got my hands on a new jutsu and wanted to make sure I can use it the next time I take on Sasuke." Naruto said making Ayame smile.

" When you do make sure to give him an extra hit for me." Ayame said making Naruto look at her with curiosity, of course his eyes already swore to do what she asked. After all it was a request from his kind ramen making Neechan.

" One of my best friends tried to be civilized and ask him out. He ended up acting like a real jerk and didn't even bother paying any attention to her. When she demanded why he was being an ass he called her a weak civilian that needed to know her place." Ayame said with anger.

" I wouldn't listen to what that Douche has to say." Naruto said making the only caring female in his life to look at him. " I've been saying it of years that he's a waste of time but no one ever listened to me. I tried to warn girls that he only cares about himself, but no one listened. He's too busy focusing on killing someone to do anything else." Naruto said making Ayame's eyes to grow.

" Killing someone?" Ayame asked with a bit of shock. Naruto closed his eyes and started to think about who it could be that Sasuke wanted to kill.

" If I had to make a guess its probably the guy that slaughtered his clan. If I was him I would worry more about rebuilding my clan than about the killer of the old one." Naruto said making Ayame smile at him. " I've never been the type to live in the past, I learn from my mistakes and the mistakes of others, which is why I'm able to dodge greater ninja after pranking them." Naruto said making Ayame giggle since he was full of pride.

" I pity your enemies Naruto-kun." Ayame said making the blond look at her to have her explain herself.

" I can't even begin to imagine the hell you'll give ninja if you start treating battles like it was a prank. You must have been the top in you class during your classes to make traps since it has the same theories and mechanics as pranking. And your Espionage, Infiltration, Stealth, and Terrorism Tactics must have been the greatest in the history of Konoha." Ayame said making Naruto's eyes to grow, which she didn't notice.

" All you have to do is switch paint balls with Kunai and Shuriken, Stink Bombs with exploding tags, and boom you just became Konoha's greatest agent of Urban Combat. I doubt anyone else in all the elemental countries knows how to turn a city into a death trap like you. Ever since you started pranking we've had high level ninja show up asking about you." Ayame said making Naruto fill with even more shock.

" All we kept hearing about was how you scarred them for life since you kept hiding your traps in ways they never thought possible. In fact, I think the department of Counter Intelligence uses some of your traps in the weakest areas of Konoha's chakra barriers to catch enemy spies. At first I thought you were being silly doing your pranks but then I heard the ninja praising you. Since a few ANBU would tail you when you made it known who your next target was going to be. Not to mention the Hokage would assign another group to protect the target only to fail terribly. Sometimes they swore that you had a split personality, because you would change into a more serious shinobi when performing your pranks." Ayame said as she finished preparing Naruto's usual order. It she hadn't been so busy working she would have seen the wave of emotions filling the blond that her words had caused.

" You never thought I had a mental problem Neechan... I mean knowing someone with a split personality can be a scary thing." Naruto asked making Ayame giggle.

" I've known you almost all my life Naruto." Ayame said as she placed a bowl of ramen in front of her favorite blond. " You like doing things your way, and this village doesn't like admitting it doesn't know everything. Over the years I've had a lot of fun bragging about my cute little brother that kept Konoha's ninjas on their toes. In fact the ANBU says they sometimes experience the Uzumaki Effect when they come close to walking into a trap while on a mission. They're very grateful since that sixth sense you built into them has allowed them to lower their death rates. Or course with you cutting your pranks their senses might dull." Ayame said with a shine in her eyes that made Naruto smirk.

" Now we wouldn't want that to happen, right Neechan?" Naruto said making Ayame giggle before he started eating his food.

+-*/\*-+

Haruno Sakura let out a sigh as she laid on her bed while wondering what was happening with her life. It was easily proving to be nothing like she had imagined. The main facts being that Sasuke was starting to show he wasn't who she taught he was. The same could be said about her blond teammate. Sakura sighed again as she thought about the teens in her life.

On one hand there was her childhood crush. The Rookie of the Year, the last loyal Uchiha and the strongest Genin in her graduating class. On the other there was her wavering fan boy. An idiotic prankster that couldn't perform an basic illusion to save his life. Yet he now used a forbidden jutsu in his everyday training. A jutsu so draining that their successful Sensei would risk his life if the man tried to copy the way the blond used the technique.

Two individuals that had always been night and day in her world. Sasuke with his aloof and mysterious nature. Naruto who had always taken it upon himself to make others have a good day at the expense of his image. Sasuke who had blocked out the world due to the lost of his clan. Naruto who at one time embraced all forms of attention even negative ones. Sasuke who showed talent in the ninja arts like no other their age. Naruto who had raw power in him like no other in her age.

Sasuke the one that had always claimed her heart. Naruto the one that had given her his heart, soul and world.

She turned and looked at the picture of Team Seven they had taken recently. She grabbed it and let out a sigh as she brought it closer to herself to study it. In the center was herself smiling. Both of her hands brought to above her chest making her look cuter than normal. Immediately behind her was her sensei Kakashi giving off a sheepish smile. The reason for his smile not being one of pleasure was the two male Genin. Sasuke was clearly unhappy as Kakashi forced him to face the camera, of course the potential Sharingan user was looking away with a scold. Naruto who was standing to Sakura's left was also being forced to look at the camera. His face fixed on a cold and permanent glare, she wasn't sure why, but her teammate and the Camera man had clearly not liked each other. In fact the man had cut Naruto off the pictures he took a few times making Kakashi very upset.

She wondered why the man that was known for his excellent camera work and professionalism could be so hateful to Naruto. Especially when Naruto told her later that he had never done anything, much less met the man until the day of their team photo.

Sakura couldn't help but blush at how Naruto gain some form of animal magnetism as he glared. She could swear his whiskers seemed to have become more defined with his glare. She could remember the chakra flares she felt from him as he left after taking their successful picture. She had also seen the muscles of his left arm twitching as he formed many fist to control his anger.

Sakura sighed one more time before putting the picture back. She wasn't sure why she framed it since Kakashi had informed them that the Hokage had agreed for them to take another picture and turn it in later. Meaning that she didn't need to keep the picture they had been given. Since the future of Konoha wouldn't be inspired by having a certain blond glare at them. Apparently all team pictures are archived, copied and then set on display in Konoha's Museum of Shinobi. Sakura had been shocked to see their individual Genin pictures with a small bio. She had giggled at the fact Naruto had been named the King of Pranks in all of Fire Country.

_' I'm so bored.'_ Sakura thought as she laid on her bed.

" **You should look for Sasuke-kun and if you can't find him then lets hang out with Naruto."** Inner Sakura said making the pinkette to smile.

" Maybe I can get a date from Sasuke?" Sakura said with hope as she quickly gathered her things to make herself more presentable.

**" If not you can then go train with Naruto."** Inner said making Sakura nod her head before she went to shower.

+-*/\*-+

" Hm... Sour Cream and Onions... or Sour Cream and Cheddar?" Sasuke wondered as he looked a two bags of chips. "Which will be best to eat with this basket of Tomatoes I just bought?" Sasuke asked himself before looking at his favorite fruit.

" I'll take the sour cream and cheddar this time, I better make some eel sandwiches since that merchant was selling them cheap today." Sasuke said with a smile. " And to drink...a can of warm soda. Better bring two in case Sakura would wants some... Kakashi did say we were going to have to start training without him. I'll find her and help her become better." Sasuke said with a light blush before making an extra sandwich to give to the pinkette it was the same way his mother made them.

+-*/\*-+

" Are you sure of this Naruto?" The Sandaime asked as he looked at the golden blond. The Hokage was a bit shocked to see the golden blond show up after lunch hour looking for work. The lone Jinchuuriki was only doing it to build an alibi before causing some old fashion mayhem.

" Yeah... I don't really got much to do today, so a solo D-rank wouldn't hurt." Naruto said making the kind old man feel bad for the teen.

" Very well Naruto. One of the local construction companies needs help with clearing up the old warehouse they demolished recently. The work is to have three genin work for two hours. Meaning that you would have to work for six hours on your own. It's the only mission I can give you today." The man said as he pulled out the mission scroll.

" Doesn't sound that bad and I could use the manual labor to build up my muscles." Naruto said making the Hokage give him an approving smile.

" Very well Naruto. The location of the work site is in the scroll. Don't worry about the client since this is a job that would be impossible to finish in a single day. Your pay will depend on how much you can clear up in the given time." The Hokage said making Naruto raise an eyebrow.

" Thanks old man... I'll see you soon." Naruto said before leaving with the scroll that he put in his pocket.

_' I know I shouldn't be letting him work but he needs all the help he can get. Its going to be impossible for you to have a successful career my boy.'_ The Sandaime thought with pain. He hoped that Tsunade would do him the favor he asked and come check on his favorite blond. He knew that his former student had the skills to heal the broken teen.

" Your the ninja the Hokage is going to send us?" A construction supervisor asked. " We were hoping for a little more." The man said with annoyance making Naruto glare at him.

" It's not wise to assume things when it comes to Shinobi." Naruto said before popping his neck. Eight clones soon popped into existence before helping him load the useless remains of the warehouse. The construction crew watched with awe as the wagons were being filled at a rate much faster than they thought possible. The real Naruto focusing on the heavier material to build up his physical power. He made sure to do proper lifting to prevent himself from being hurt.

+-*/\*-+

" Sakura." Sasuke said making the wandering pinkette to turn with shock.

" Sasuke-kun... what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be training at your home?" Sakura asked making Sasuke smirk.

" I will, but I figured it was time I started practicing some of that teamwork crap Kakashi was talking about." Sasuke said making Sakura think about his words.

" Does that mean you were looking for Naruto and Me?" Sakura asked making Sasuke blink his eyes.

" Yeah... I found Naruto... and he said he was going to take it easy. Something about his arm acting up." Sasuke said making Sakura's eyes to grow with shock.

" Was he in a lot of pain?" Sakura asked with worry.

" Not really, his meds were running low. I offered to get them but he said he was going to be alright. He also told me not to tell you anything but I don't feel right lying to you." Sasuke said making Sakura blush.

" Thanks for telling me the truth Sasuke-kun... lets go see that knucklehead." Sakura said making Sasuke shake his head.

" Sakura... Naruto feels like he's the weakest link... he doesn't want to be a burden to others which is why he is now trying so hard to be different. Showing up and caring for him is only going to make things worse. Let him come to us, as his teammates we will be there for him." Sasuke said making Sakura hesitate before nodding her head.

" Sure Sasuke lets go train." Sakura said making Sasuke smirk.

_' Sorry Naruto, but if I'm going to be stuck with a fan girl with a wife I might as well make her to my liking.'_ Sasuke thought as he looked at the pinkette before turning away with a blush.

" **He's doing that creepy staring thing again."** Inner Sakura said making the real personal to sigh before worrying about the blond in her team.

Naruto watched with a raised eyebrow as his left arm twitched from his hard day of work. The construction crew had appointed him a completed mission when he nearly tripled the wagons used to carry trash by a regular Genin team. Naruto was shocked at the large amount of money he was going to gain. He gained a great thank you from the construction crew for helping their job be easier. They had also asked for his name so that they can request him for additional work Since now they were ahead of schedule allowing the workers to gain some breathing room.

Naruto waved off their gratitude but assured them that if they kept paying so well he would accept their mission request.

_' Morning training check...' _Naruto thought as he walked through the village. _' Manual labor... Check...'_ The blond thought as he patted his frog wallet that was in his shinobi pouch. _' And now afternoon training...'_

" Naruto." The soothing yet seductive voice of one Yamanaka Ino said making Naruto stop while resiting the urge to slap himself.

_' Memo to self... never travel in the open streets unless necessary.'_ The growing Mandarin thought as he waited for the Kunochi to reach him.

" Tell me Ino..."Naruto said as he turned his head to look at the platinum blond. " What wonderful blessing has given me the honor of bathing in your beauty?"

" I'm going to ignore the sarcasm you just used otherwise I'll have to kick you in the balls." Ino said making Naruto mentally flinch.

" Please do... now why are you bothering me?" Naruto said making Ino glare at him.

" Can't I greet my friend on this lovely Sunday Afternoon.?" Ino asked making Naruto study her.

" You can... if you go bother this friend you speak of." Naruto said making Ino punch his good arm.

" Keep it up and next time its going to be my foot... and you know where I'll be aiming." Ino said making Naruto glare at her which sent a shiver down her spine. She found it frightening yet arousing.

" Fine... Hello Ino... how was your day?" Naruto asked making Ino smile.

" It was pretty boring in the morning... my parents had me work in the flower shop. No one showed up. Plus I woke up with some killer bed hair and I ended up opening the shop late. My dad said if it happened again he was going to cut my allowance." Ino said making Naruto sigh. He soon started making his way to a training ground in hopes that the chance of Ino breaking a nail would scare her off.

_' She's still here... and she hasn't stopped.'_ Naruto thought three hours later as he worked on his taijutsu training. His clones kept getting distracted by Ino chattering making them much easier to kill.

" And that's when I shoved some wild flowers down her throat and told her it was some ninja wolf's bane." Ino said with pride.

" Ino... why are you here?" Naruto asked with annoyance after he killed his last clone.

" I wanted to hang out with you..."

" Why?" Naruto asked with a tone saying he didn't believe her.

" Because I can..."

" Says who?" Naruto asked making the platinum blond to blow on her hair.

" Why are you being this way Naruto?" Ino asked.

" Being how?"

" A jerk!" Ino said making Naruto give her a weak glare .

" Ino since the first time I skipped with Shikamaru and the others I learned things about you." Naruto said making Ino exited.

" I hope it was a lot of good things or I'll have to punish Choji and Shika." Ino said making Naruto shake his head.

" Probably but I don't remember any because back then we didn't exist in each other's world." Naruto said making Ino nod her head.

" The point is that I know you don't do anything unless its for your benefit, so I'll ask you once more... why are you here?" Naruto said making Ino look at the ground.

" My parents heard about... what you did to me the other day." Ino said with a blush as a strong tone of embarrassment filled her voice. A wave of arousal filling her for a brief moment as she remembered what he did.

" What did I do?" Naruto asked since it had been nearly two weeks since he had seen her.

" You know... when you held me in the street.. and made me..." Ino said as her blushed strengthen.

" Made you what?" Naruto asked with annoyance.

" All you need to know is that you made me do things in my room that my parents feel I'm not ready for." Ino said making Naruto pause with confusion.

"What? That makes no sense... because I didn't make you do anything." Naruto said making Ino's face turn completely red.

" Yes you did... you might not know it or care but you did... and your going to take responsibility for your actions and have dinner at my place." Ino said making Naruto glare at her before his mouth dropped.

" Your place?" Naruto asked making Ino shyly blush her head. " With that psycho mom of yours that slaps people for no reason?"

" My mom doesn't slap people for no reason... she just thought you were paying me to do stuff with you. It was an honest mistake." Ino said in defense of her mom.

" No.. an honest mistake is meeting a tomboy that is dressed like a guy and thinking she's a guy. An honest mistake is bumping into someone when you don't see them... Bitch slapping a person because you/re thinking wrong is not an honest mistake Yamanaka." Naruto said making Ino glare at him.

" She meant well, and now she wants to apologize by inviting you for dinner." Ino said making Naruto narrow his eyes.

" If that's true why did you bring up what happened when I was delivering Tora?" Naruto said making Ino blush and turn away.

" Because it got us into more trouble." Ino said as she pouted and crossed her arms.

" There is no us... Ino... you're the one in trouble not me." The golden blond said making the purple loving Kunochi to glare at him.

" You're in trouble too... my dad wants to kick your ass because of what you did to me. Its because of my mom that he isn't here scrambling your brain." Ino said making Naruto glare at her.

" What the hell did I do to you? I only held you in front of others, its not like I had planned to go farther than that." Naruto said making Ino blush.

" Its because of that, that I ended up doing something that got us in trouble." Ino said making Naruto drag his hand over his face.

" Damn it Ino... I don't know what you did, but considering the fact that you refuse speak of it and your father wishes to turn me into a vegetable for it, its safe to say that you fucked up and now your bringing me down with you." Naruto said making Ino glare at him.

" Its your fault! Your Fault! Your Fault!" Ino yelled as she stomped towards Naruto. " If you hadn't held me, if you hadn't spoken so close to my ear, if your muscles hadn't felt so good, if the warmth of your body hadn't excited me. I wouldn't have woken my house up from a wet dream that made my body masturbate on its own." Ino growled with righteous womanly rage. The two blonds froze as her words finished registering in their brains.

" Ino-pig you pervert." Sakura suddenly yelled making the two blonds to turn to her as they blushed like never before.

" Sa-Sakura...what are you doing here?" Ino said as she saw her rival storming her way over.

" I was looking for Naruto to see if he wanted to train with me." Sakura said as she glared at her former best friend.

" Sakura you don't need to train with him... I'm sorry for what I did." Sasuke said as he appeared behind the pinkette making Sakura glare at him.

" What did he do?" Naruto asked making the last Uchiha glare at him.

" It doesn't concern you." Sasuke said as he tried to grab Sakura's hand only for her to snatch it away before he could.

" Yes it does, you lied to me... to make me go to your house and then you stole a kiss when we were sparring. You had me pinned to the ground and forced yourself on me." Sakura said with rage and some tears in her eyes.

" You overrated piece of shit." Naruto growled as Sakura got closer to him for protection.

" I'm sorry... it just I can't get that first kiss out of my head. I thought she would have liked it, and I got caught in the moment...I'm sorry." Sasuke said as he turned his face away.

" Kiss?" Ino asked as she felt a light pain in her heart. Sasuke was her first crush and now her rival had apparently taken his first kiss and gained another.

" It didn't count." Sakura said making the eyes of the Genin to grow. " He was tied up because of Kakashi-sensei, when he was cut down he fell on me and our lips met. It wasn't a long and I didn't kiss back. I was too shocked to gain any form of joy from it." Sakura said making Sasuke feel worse.

" But Sasuke did..." Ino said making Sakura glare at him.

" Sakura during your sparing did the Teme do or show any signs of planning anything perverted?" Naruto asked making Sakura frown as she thought about her her training with her teammate.

"No... we were sparing and he was holding back while I focused on attacking him... and then he pulled out that grapple to pin me. We had been training for a while... so both of us were panting a lot and when he took me down we ended up very close to each other." Sakura said with a blush.

" Then maybe he did get caught in the moment." Naruto said making Sakura give him a look of betrayal. " I'm not saying that what he did wasn't wrong... but I also know how kissable you can suddenly become. Especially that forehead of yours." Naruto said making the eyes of the Genin to grow as Sakura blushed.

" My forehead?" Sakura asked with disbelief and hope.

" Her forehead?" Ino said with disbelief and a bit of disgust making the pinkette glare at her.

" Back in the academy I would have done anything to kiss you, but unlike the Rookie of the year I knew better than to force myself on you. I'm surprised you didn't sock him for it... maybe a little upset at that too." Naruto said making Sakura blush and Sasuke wince.

" I kneed him in the groin after I figured out he kissed me." Sakura said making Naruto to gain a shit eating grin as Ino gasped.

" **We broke the Uchiha jewels after his nasty ass breathe filled our nose. Asshole even tried to make us eat the same shit as him. For once I'm thankful for Shinobi Rations bars."** Inner Sakura said as she stood over a whimpering Sasuke clutching his balls.

" A kick to the groin for a kiss is a fair exchange in my books." Naruto said making Sakura calm down but still show signs of not wanting Sasuke near her. After all a woman doesn't like being forced into doing anything. That is especially true when it concerns matters of the heart and who gets to play with their body.

" I still can't believe Sasuke kissed forehead." Ino said with a sad look.

" The good news is that Sakura didn't enjoy either of them so its safe to say he's a crappy kisser." Naruto said making Sasuke glare at him.

" But it doesn't change the fact that he kissed her... He Kissed her." Ino said with some pain.

" You heard Naruto... I'm very kissable." Sakura said as some of her old rivalry flames shot up.

" **I might not have enjoyed those kisses but now I'm in the lead in winning Sasuke's heart." **Inner Sakura yelled with pride.

" You didn't feel anything when we kissed?" Sasuke asked with a hint of betrayal.

" She scrambled your eggs and ran away from you Teme... that means something and it definitely doesn't mean she is playing hard to get." Naruto said making Sasuke glare at him. " I don't know who taught you about kissing but its clear they don't know shit." Naruto said making Sasuke want to hit him.

" It was my father... he said that when a guy wants to kiss a girl he just does it, unless she belongs to someone else. Its a man job to take the woman he wants." Sasuke said making the Genin in front of him to blink before he had to flinch from two glares. Naruto on the other hand had a victorious grin.

" That's pretty fucked up Uchiha..." Naruto said making Sasuke clench his fist. " Since you're my teammate I'll give you some friendly advice." Naruto said making the Genin look at him.

" Without women men are nothing... they are our creatures, caretakers and our greatest treasures. To win the love of a woman is the greatest gift that can ever be given to a man. Its why women must be treated with all the respect they deserve... and these are the words of the Sandaime Hokage... and he has only loved one woman in his entire life... even after she died." Naruto said making the Genin fill with shock.

" Here's another friendly piece of advice." Naruto said with a smirk. " I won't ever again calm down two Kunochi full of righteous fury for you again. So cut your losses and go home before one of them decides your balls needs another whack taken at them. You did just claim women are nothing but items for the taking." Naruto said with a prankster smile as Sasuke flinched and cupped himself. The Uchiha quickly ran away as Naruto's words registered in the two kunochi.

" I can't believe he said that." Sakura said with rage as she looked at the fleeing Sasuke.

" I can't believe he kissed you twice." Ino said making Sakura glare at her.

" I can't believe Ino is still jealous over something simple like a kiss." Naruto said making Ino and Sakura glare at him.

" A kiss to a girl isn't a simple thing... you wouldn't know because you haven't been kissed by a girl yet." Sakura said making Ino nod her head as both gained smug looks.

" I have been kissed by a girl." Naruto said with a bored tone making the two teens to fill with shock. "We were training, and she kissed me, then I kissed back... I left her moaning and panting for more." Naruto said making the two teens fill with anger.

" Naruto you're not suppose to be kissing anybody." Sakura screeched making the blond glare at her.

" **Shannaro! You blond man whore! You're only suppose to kiss me!"** Inner Sakura yelled as she savagely beat upon a copy of Naruto.

" Why the hell not? Kissing feels good... I can kiss whoever the hell I want and there is nothing you can do about it." Naruto said making Sakura step up to him.

" No... I don't want you kissing anybody." Sakura said making Ino look at the two with shock.

" Don't push me Sakura... you have no right telling me what I can or can't do." Naruto said as he clenched his fist.

" I have every right because you love me. Your not suppose to kiss anyone unless its me." Sakura said with complete authority making Naruto draw blood from his clenched fist. She had even gone as far to show her dominance by getting in Naruto's face.

" I loved you..." Naruto said making Ino and Sakura fill with shock. " I don't carry anymore feelings for you... its shit like this that showed me I deserved better. What kind of friend openly claims control of another's love life?" Naruto said making Ino nod her head and Sakura lower hers.

" Your lying." Sakura said as she clutched the clothes over her heart and looked at Naruto with complete confidence in her words. Inner Sakura rooting her on.

" You haven't stopped loving me." Sakura said making Naruto's lose some of his cool. " You still love me... I see it when we train as a team, when we work on our missions, when we eat lunch together, and when you walk me home. Its hard to see it but I've learned the signs." Sakura said making Ino look at her rival and the golden blond with disbelief.

" Your wasting your breathe talking about things that never happened." Naruto said making Sakura shake her head.

" I know you love me." Sakura said as she gained confidence from that simple fact. " You try to hide it, but you can't. You blush every time I laugh and smile with you. You shiver in excitement when I touch you. You always bring me my favorites when you send out clones to buy our food. You always take on the hardest jobs so that I won't have to. You always volunteer to be my training dummy so that I could become stronger. You're always the first to support me so that I can reach my dreams. In this world no one loves me more than you." Sakura said as her heart took in the value of her words.

" You hate Sasuke because he took what you always wanted." Sakura said making Naruto step back. " Your jealous of him kissing me, even now as you act like you don't care I know its tearing you up inside. I saw how you wanted to kill him when I said he forced himself on me. Because you wanted to protect what is most precious to you... you wanted to protect me." Sakura said with a light blush.

" Your wrong." Naruto said as he made some space between him and Sakura. " I no longer love you, and I refuse to fall for you once more." Naruto said as his body trembled from having his feelings displayed by her. "I... You have no right treating me this way!" Naruto said with force making Sakura step back.

" I refuse to love you... you who has always ignored my feelings except when its most convenient for you. You who rejects me in the open but tempts me when no one is around." Naruto said making Ino look at the pinkette with shock. Sakura turned away since she had done such things in the academy.

" I won't allow myself to love a person that doesn't exist. I won't love a woman that plays with my heart. I can't love you when I know I won't ever be the one you truly want... I deserve better... I just want to beloved." Naruto said with pain as he turned away to hide his tears.

" Naruto." Sakura said as she reached out to him.

" Don't touch him!" A formerly shy and stuttering voice commanded. The trio turned to see a very angry Hyuuga.

" Hinata..." Ino and Sakura said with disbelief.

" What are you doing here?" Sakura asked making the Hyuuga flinch.

" I was walking by and heard some noise...and came to see what it was." Hinata said with her usual stuttering in hopes of hiding the fact she had been stalking the golden blond.

" Then you heard everything we said?" Ino asked.

" Yes... I even heard about you being a pervert." Hinata said making Ino blush.

" Hinata this doesn't involve you... just go home." Sakura said making the Hyuuga give her an icy glare she learned from Kurenai.

" I want to be a part of this because I want to help Naruto be happy." The shy Hyuuga said with a blush making the eyes of the Genin to grow. Two gained the looks of someone that understood why she was here. While the golden blond stood confused.

" I hated seeing you stomp over his heart. I hated how you could treat someone so loyal to you like trash. You don't deserve his love." Hinata said what her heart felt.

" I didn't know better in the academy... I've changed from who I was back them, and I'll keep changing to be a better person."  
Sakura said as glared at the shorter teen.

" It doesn't change the fact that you don't deserve him. You finally have Sasuke wanting you and yet you don't let Naruto-kun go." Hinata said making Sakura clench her fist.

" She's right forehead you have no right to string along Naruto now that you got Sasuke." Ino said making the pinkette glare at her.

" You say that now that your fantasizing about my teammate." Sakura said making Ino blush and Naruto grow a shit eating grin. Hinata glared at the Yamanaka that was showing signs of moving on her turf.

" You really had a wet dream because of what I did?" Naruto asked making Ino blush more as the one he loved and the one that loved him looked at him with disbelief.

" Yeah.. and according to my parents I was very vocal about it." Ino said making Naruto's grin to grow.

_' I can use this... I can use her to break free from Sakura... Ino was always a better Kunochi... and Kiba always said she was the hottest in the class. Yes with a little effort I can make this work.'_ Naruto thought as he studied the blushing platinum blond that couldn't look him in the face.

" Perverted Pig." Sakura growled.

" Your one to talk you man hogging giant forehead monster." Ino said making Sakura clench her fist.

" Ino's right, go be with Sasuke, you both deserve each other." Hinata said making Sakura turn towards her.

" Shut up you stalker." Sakura said making Hinata gasp and step back.

" Stalker?" Ino asked.

" I didn't say it before because Hinata comes from the Hyuuga clan." Sakura said making Hinata fill with fear.

_' I better end this shit before Sakura throws the first fist and they end up crying everywhere... and knowing my luck I'll be blamed for this shit.'_ Naruto thought before seeing Ino verbally attack Sakura for lying about Hinata.

" Ino," Naruto said making the trio look at him. " What time do I have to be at your place?" Naruto asked making Ino confused.

" My place?"

" To meet your parents." Naruto said making the eyes of the Kunochi to grow.

" Why are you going there?" Sakura asked since she had only heard the part about Ino masturbating about Naruto.

" They plan to grill me for seducing Ino... even if that wasn't my intention." Naruto said making Ino blush. " I might as well get it over with that way things wouldn't blow up in my face." Naruto said making Ino take his hands into hers.

" Thanks a lot Naruto, I didn't know what I was going to do if I had to tell my dad you said no." Ino said with gratitude before turning to leave to tell her mom the good news. She quickly turned and to the shock of the Genin she hugged Naruto once more. " Thank you... now I won't have to get in trouble on my own."

" No problem." Naruto said as he experienced his first hug from a Konoha native.

" My mom has dinner ready by eight so make sure to come earlier so that you can leave a good impression... but not too early or they will think something is going on between us." Ino said before letting go of the blond and rushing off to her home.

" You don't have to go and fix the mess she got herself in." Sakura said while standing in a way that showed he hurt her and now she was going to push him away.

" **Let the pig burn for being a perverted whore!"** Inner Sakura yelled as she had Ino cooking over a fire like if the platinum blond was a real pig. The inner persona was rotating Ino over the flames thanks to a certain pole that had entered her rival through one hole and was coming out of another.

" She's right, whatever happens with the Yamanaka's is clan business it doesn't involve you." Hinata said making Naruto look at her.

" Ino came to me for help... and I know I'm the last person she would ever ask for help. She's desperate and scared of facing her parents alone. I can't just turn my back on her. I do hold some responsibility over what she did, even if it was something I never expected." Naruto said making Hinata look a little broken.

" Oh... I'll be leaving then." Hinata said before running off before they could see her tears.

" What's wrong with her?" Naruto asked making Sakura shake her head.

" Don't worry about her you dense baka." Sakura said making Naruto look at her.

" Sakura... you said you wanted to be my friend... I agreed to giving you a chance but its starting to show signs that we're better off not being around each other." Naruto said making the emerald eyes of the pinkette to grow.

" Don't say that Naruto... I ... Sasuke messed with my head... what he did to me left me with a lot of bottled up anger." Sakura said making Naruto study her.

" Is that why you came looking for me? Why didn't you go home and rant to your parents? Why didn't you report his actions to ANBU instead of looking for me?" Naruto said making Sakura turn from his gaze.

" I knew you would protect me... and my mom is a big fan of the Uchiha clan... she dated one when she was a teen but couldn't marry him because of her being a civilian. She would have started bragging to the village about us being a couple when we are not." Sakura said making Naruto's eyes to grow.

" Isn't that what you wanted?" Naruto said making Sakura shake her head.

" I don't know what I want anymore." Sakura said making Naruto frown before he let out a sigh.

" You know what Sakura... I know I shouldn't... and I'm really hating myself for this..." Naruto said making Sakura look at him with worry. " But I forgive you... I know how you get tunnel vision when you're upset. I'm going to pretend that today never happened." Naruto said making Sakura smile.

" Then that means you're not going to Ino-pig's place?" Sakura said with some hope in her eyes.

" Sorry Sakura but I gave Ino my word. And if there is one thing I don't go back on its my word." Naruto said making Sakura upset.

" But she's only using you." Sakura said making Naruto turn his head from her.

" It's no different than what you did to me at the academy." Naruto said making Sakura's heart feel some pain.

" But I'm not the same girl as before." Sakura said in her defense.

" Yes you are..." Naruto said making Sakura to fill with betrayal. " It's true your becoming a better person but a part of you still is that little girl that was overwhelmed by peer pressure. You're still the frightened and confused girl that had so much potential that she made other's jealous since she came from humble origins. You're still the cutest person I know." Naruto said making Sakura feel better.

" But I'm only cute... isn't that what you told Ino when you dry humped her?" Sakura said with a glare making Naruto flinch. As much as he hated to admit he still feared her legendary left hook.

" First off I wasn't dry humping her." Naruto said making Sakura pout as she turned her head from him. " Second I did claim you as the cutest girl in the academy and I did say your a child to older ninja... but I never said you won't grow up. I never directly said you were a snot nosed brat, just that I didn't want one. And I never openly said I didn't want you... not until today." Naruto said making Sakura blush as he turned his head away.

" I'm sorry if I hurt you Naruto." Sakura said making the golden blond shake his head.

" Forget it... it never happened remember." Naruto said making Sakura nod her head.

" I got to go now Sakura... It isn't long until I got to be at Ino's place. Plus I got to freshen up." Naruto said making Sakura nod his head.

" Be careful Naruto... Ino's mom loves embarrassing people." Sakura said making Naruto turn his head to look at her. He nodded his gratitude for her worry before leaving. He froze when he felt Sakura hug his from behind.

" I know we agreed that today never happened but... I want you to know that I'll try to be a better person not only for myself but for you." Sakura said as she held Naruto.

" Sakura-chan?" Naruto said with disbelief and a blush.

" If you promise to behave I'll give you more as rewards in the future." Sakura said as she let go Naruto and stuck her tongue out at his blushing face. His heart skipped at beat at the cute power she did while blowing him a raspberry. The blush on her fair skin and her shut emerald eyes milking the cuteness of her age for everything it was worth.

" I would like that..." Naruto honestly said since he had always dreamed of Sakura hugging him.

" I'll see you tomorrow at training Naruto." Sakura said before rushing off with a blush of her own.

" **Cha! I still got it."** Inner Sakura said as she stood on top of a viciously beaten Hinata and Ino. Inner Sakura had a championship belt around her waist as a ref held her hand in the air as fans cheered. Sasuke appeared to hold her only for Naruto to drop kick him away. Both Sakura's blushed as he picked her up bridal style and traveled towards the nearest love hotel.

_' Fuck! I let her seduce me again.' _Naruto mentally growled when he snatched control from the hormones controlling his body. He looked towards the hidden Mandarin rings on his right arm.

_' The power to rule the world and the dumb shits can't even free from the clutches of one emotionally confusing teenage girl... Ah why do you torment me Kami-sama!'_ Naruto mentally yelled as he pulled at his hair. Silence immediately filled the training ground he was in because of his chakra that had flared because of his anger. Naruto shook his head and rushed towards his home to prepare for the dinner from hell that the Yamanaka's was going to host.

" Fucking Sakura unjustly owning my heart. Fucking Sasuke being a sexist a douche and ruining his chances of winning Sakura. Fucking Kurotsuchi belonging to a village on the other side of the elemental nations. How am I going to release my sexual frustrations with her bitch ass stuck in Iwa?" Naruto growled as he showered.

"I'm going to have to use Ino to push Sakura away... I can't let her gain anymore control of my heart. I can't let that useless bitch dictate my life... why can't I figure this logic when I'm around her?" Naruto said to himself before concentrating on his shower and finishing up.

" Yes... Ino will become the perfect tool for me to keep that Harpy away. I'll just have to make sure to claim Ino's heart and make her stronger than Sakura." Naruto said with a smirk. " I do need more minions and the heir of the Yamanaka Clan would be perfect to fit that role." Naruto said before chuckling and changing to go eat. A dark grin grew on his face as he walked towards the Yamanaka residence to engage in a new form of battle. One that most males feared.

_' Do your worst Yamanaka Inoichi... but by the end of the night your precious princess will belong to me.'_ Naruto thought as he directed his endless determination on his newest goal.

**+-*/\*-+**

**GatsuBerk: Hope you enjoyed this read and review. I'm not sure how this chapter came out but I hope someone liked it. I hope to start the Zabuza Arc next chapter... or is it called the Wave Arc... I'm going to stick to Zabuza since it sounds better. Mandarin Naruto will soon be showing his new colors to the world as he begins his path of destruction. I'll start showing skills that don't revolve around the Rings even if I haven't openly shown anything about them except that one fire attack. Don't hold your breathes waiting for a return of Kurotsuchi, she is after all only a Genin with limited to no freedom outside her village. Especially when the Earth Convoy had been viciously attacked... so please be patient, as I try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.**

**Ja Ne.**


	12. From Pawn to King

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Chapter 12 : From Pawn to King.**

**+-*/\*-+**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

***Jutsu***

_**Last Time on Mark of Failure:**_

" _Yes... Ino will become the perfect tool for me to keep that Harpy away. I'll just have to make sure to claim Ino's heart and make her stronger than Sakura." Naruto said with a smirk. " I do need more minions and the heir of the Yamanaka Clan would be perfect to fit that role." Naruto said before chuckling and changing to go eat. A dark grin grew on his face as he walked towards the Yamanaka residence to engage in a new form of battle. One that most males feared. _

_' Do your worst Yamanaka Inoichi... but by the end of the night your precious princess will belong to me.' Naruto thought as he directed his endless determination on his newest goal._

+-*/\*-+

Uzumaki Naruto popped his neck as he looked upon the flower shop belonging to the head of the Yamanaka clan. His mind wondering why a man with a more than likely dark and bloody past would own such a place. Naruto had heard the history about the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and their previous battles. It would normally leave most Genin frighten having to go meet such a man after the trouble his princess created. But Naruto wasn't most Genin, and anyone in Konoha would be more than glad to agree.

Finishing his evaluation of the flower shop Naruto went to open the door only to find a happy and blushing Ino waiting for him. The Yamanaka heir quickly opened the door and pulled him.

" Thank god you came." Ino said as she gave him a light hug before dragging him to the living room. "My dad is up stairs going over the shop's budget and my mom is finishing dinner so we have a few moments to talk." Ino said making Naruto raise an eyebrow before sitting down on the large family couch.

His Sapphire eyes scanning the living room finding pictures of Ino's family, her time spent with the Akimichi and Nara clans, along with some of Ino being younger and playing with her friends.

" So what do you want to talk about?" Naruto asked as his eyes rested on Ino. He couldn't deny that Ino was going to become very attractive as time passed. And without Sakura to cloud his mind he could easily see that the platinum blond is a lot easier on the eyes.

" I don't know... what do you like to talk about?" Ino asked with a blush since Naruto was completely focused on her and not just her body. Although she had seen him checking her out.

" Wouldn't know since I'm not used to talking to people my own age." Naruto said making Ino's eyes to grow. " When I use to hang with the guys we usually bi..complained about stuff." Naruto had to reel in his language since he was a guest in a clan home. He saw the look of gratitude in Ino's Cerulean eyes.

" Oh... well you already heard about how my week was... so tell me about yours." Ino said making Naruto think. She found his face hilarious yet cute, it proved to her that a bit of the old Naruto was still in there.

" Training was boring since Kakashi hasn't bothered to teach us anything outside of teamwork. Our Missions... I'm sure you have an idea how they are like." Naruto said making Ino nod her head before pouting at how they are treated like nothing more than manual labor trained to kill.

" I know we're new genin and more than likely passed by the skin of our teeth, but they could at least throw us a bone every once in a while." Naruto said making Ino nod her head.

" You can say that again, of course I got the most laziest Sensei in all of Konoha, since he only makes us do a few D-ranks a week between our training. And even then most of the time he has us playing stupid board games with Shika." Ino said making Naruto raise an eyebrow.

" Board games?" The golden blond asked.

" Yeah, it's suppose to help us make strategies or something." Ino said making Naruto think.

" How good are you?" Naruto asked.

" I can beat Choji but it gets hard when food is on the line. Asuma beats me most of the time but sometimes I catch him off guard. But even then it feels like I barely won. Shika always beats me and when I play him it feels like he isn't even trying." Ino said as he got into a thinking pose that made Naruto fortify his decision of making Ino into his main Anti-Sakura defense.

" Is it hard to play?" Naruto asked.

" Not really, you just need to learn how the pieces move. I can show you if you want." Ino said with a bit of excitement. She didn't want them to run out of something to talk about since it would be awkward just sitting on the same couch in complete silence. Ino knew that if she was allowed to be quiet for too long she would end up saying something she didn't want to say or pissing someone off. And at the moment she didn't want to piss Naruto off.

" I would appreciate that Ino." Naruto said with sincerity making Ino smile at him.

" Shika likes using a different set but I'm more of a fan of this style. I'll tell you about the other later." Ino said making Naruto nod his head. Naruto watched as Ino nearly skipped towards a cabinet with a vase of flowers. Ino soon squatted on the ground and dug through some board games before pulling one out. It had a checkered pattern board along with white and black pieces. _**( A/N: For those that can't figure it out they're going to play Chess... since I'm not entirely sure on the rules for the game that our favorite lazy bum rules I'm using one I'm more familiar with... be glad I didn't use Checkers... its my Fanfiction people... I can put whatever I want... It's completely democratic... so go to hell!)**_

" I'll tell you how the pieces move as we play along." Ino said as Naruto copied how she set up the white pieces.

" Since this is your first time playing I'll let you have the second move." Ino said as she grabbed a white pawn and moved it. After explaining to him how the pieces moved and the goal of the game.

_' A Jounin is making his team practice this... if it is good enough for them it is good enough for me.' _Naruto thought as he saw Ino start off with the pawn in front of her bishop.

Not even five turns had passed before Ino's Mom informed her daughter that dinner was ready. The two young blonds spared a single glance at each other before accepting their immediate fate. Which had Naruto once again wishing he had forsaken his fellow blond when he saw the look on Inoichi's face.

" Good afternoon Yamanaka-san. I thank you for taking the time and effort out of your lives to invite me to you wonderful home." Naruto said with respect in hopes of starting things right so that he can get out faster. He even gave them a light bow before offering Ino her chair.

Naturally he went without noticing the shock filling Ino's soul and face. She had never heard much less expected Naruto to be respectful to anybody. She had even heard that he called the Hokage an Old Man. Sure the Professor was an old man but he was a man that needed to be respected. Which is why her brain nearly shut down thanks to Naruto's sudden show of manners. Lucky for her it was still functioning enough to take the seat Naruto offered.

" Think nothing of it Uzumaki-san." Inoichi said while thinking of which jutsu he can use to scramble the blond's brains fast enough that his family didn't notice. Of course that lead to the problem of having one that no one in Konoha would be able to recognize, but more importantly link back to him. Which at the moment was something that didn't exist in his arsenal.

" So how have you been Uzumaki-san?" Ino's mom, a kind woman named Izumi, asked. Kind when her family wasn't being mistreated or insulted.

" Things have been going well since the fire..." Naruto said in a tone that was respectful yet showed he didn't want to talk about it.

" What about your career?" Inoichi said making Ino frown at him. A question her parents had constantly thrown at her was how long Naruto would be able to provide for himself much less his significant other with only one working arm. Which caused the young platinum blond all kinds of problems since she wasn't ready to think that far.

"What about it?" Naruto asked since he didn't really think much of it, other than the fact he planned to become as strong as possible to reach his goals. Of course there was the fact that Kakashi wasn't helping in that aspect. And something was telling Naruto that the one eyed lazy bum was playing favorites. He wasn't sure where that thought came from but he planned to follow up on it.

" This might be a little too soon to talk about it, but there is a chance that your arm might one day get in the way." Inoichi said with a serious and cold tone making the woman of his wife to gasp.

" I know that the missions I've been on are not worth mentioning, but during my short time as a Genin such a scenario has yet to appear." Naruto said making the Yamanaka family study him.

" But what about when you need to lift things with two hands?" Izumi asked.

Naruto answered by making two clones appear. Each one took one side of his chair and lifted him without trouble.

" I know my limitations Yamanaka-san and I'm already working to solve that problem." Naruto said as the clones lowered him to the ground.

" I see... does Kakashi know that you can make seal less clones?" Inoichi asked.

" I only know the basic three and even then my abilities are limited." Naruto said making the man nod his head as he closed his eyes.

_' Still a Rookie and he can already do jutsus without seals... either his control is amazing or he has so much chakra that he doesn't notice the drain.'_ Inoichi thought as his wife poured them some tea to start dinner. _' Perhaps Iruka's count on the clones Naruto made was not an exaggeration at all.'_ The man thought as he felt his daughter turn towards the golden blond.

" Naruto... those were real clones right?" Ino asked making Naruto nod his head.

" How?... How did you learn such an advance move? You couldn't even make an illusion back at the academy." Ino said with awe as she saw Naruto in a new light.

" I was given the opportunity of a lifetime..." Naruto said making Inoichi relax since the man feared Naruto was going to speak about something the village wished to keep hidden. " I took it while ignoring all the risks in my way. Since this was my weakest subject in the academy I worked on this jutsu until I squeezed it for everything it was worth." Naruto said making Ino wish she had been given an opportunity to gain a new super cool jutsu. She could only imagine what she could get away with if she had a loyal copy to do her work.

" Have you've been using your clones in Missions?" Izumi asked.

" Only on the ones I've been allowed to... I won't gain much if I refuse to do my share of the work. I know D-ranks are a pain but the village must be handing them out for a reason... even if its a reason I don't know." Naruto said making Inoichi smirk and Ino lose her hope for an escape from her parents' business.

" You might want to invest on gaining a defensive jutsu." Inoichi said making the Genin look at him. " Preferably a Doton one." Inoichi.

" But my elemental affinities are Fire and Wind. I can't see them defending me from much." Naruto said making Inoichi shake his head.

" Just because its easy to use one element doesn't mean you can't use another. It just takes a little work and a lot of patience." Inoichi said making Naruto nod his head.

" What element are we daddy?" Ino asked.

" That depends on you princess." Inoichi said making Ino pout a bit. " Since our family specializes in mind altering jutsus we don't have a bloodline with clear elemental make up, Your Jounin Sensei should in theory know when its best for you to learn your affinity." Inoichi said making Ino sigh. Knowing her team they weren't going to get to that part of being a ninja anytime soon.

" Naruto how did you learn about your affinities?" Izumi asked.

" I went to a store looking for Jutsus a Genin needs to survive. I can't rely on the basic three forever." Naruto said making Ino flinch since she had thought she could do what Naruto didn't want to do. Along with focusing on the power her clan was willing to give her.

" Maybe we can go to that store together to get a Doton Jutsu." Ino said making Naruto look at her before nodding his head. He didn't really want to spend time with the platinum blond, but to win her over he needed to get used to her being around.

Ino couldn't help but give him a grateful smile since she was used to her team always refusing to do anything related to real ninja work.

" You know princess I'll be available to help you buy something in the next weekend why don't you wait until then." Inoichi said making his daughter give him a weak glare. She didn't bother putting much force into it since she knew her mother would be the one to put the hurt on her father.

" Inoichi..." Izumi said making the man flinch. " If Ino wishes to use her mission money to improve herself then it is her decision to do so.' The woman said making the man sigh as his daughter gain a smirk of victory.

" That's right daddy you said I couldn't spend my mission money on clothes... at least not all of it." Ino said with a blush at the end. " A defensive jutsu is just the thing I need when my team starts taking more dangerous missions." Ino said making her father look at her.

" Are you sure you don't want to start learning to be an interrogator instead. The pay is good, the hours are great and you hardly ever get to leave the village." Inoichi said in hopes of keeping his daughter close. He didn't want her being exposed to the Shinobi World and its dangers.

" Sorry daddy but I still want to do missions, even if I'm stuck with my lazy team." Ino said making her father sigh in defeat. He would try again later.

" You know I was able to gain a D-rank to work on my own today." Naruto said making Ino look at him with awe and Inoichi with a frown.

" What? How?" Ino asked while her father wished the golden blond wouldn't introduce his daughter to this path in life.

" I asked the Hokage since my team isn't taking enough for me to provide for everything I need." Naruto said with a bored tone making the older Yamanakas to feel bad. While Ino wonder if living alone was that expensive, it wasn't if you were anybody but the Kyuubi's Jailer. " It was some easy manual labor, in fact when you found me I was just finished turning in my Mission Report." Naruto said making Ino's eyes to grow.

" So that's why you were coming from the direction of the tower." Ino said making Naruto nod his head.

" Have things been difficult for you lately?" Izumi asked with a hint of concern. Naruto had noticed how the woman had been a bit angry at him being in her house. But her motherly instincts were helping clear that anger away. It also helped that her daughter was starting to break out of her fan girl mentality.

" The Village cut off my allowance since I'm now a real ninja... and the hospital ate up a large chunk of my savings." Naruto said making the eyes of the Yamanaka family to grow.

" But you should have been given a reasonable payment plan for being an active ninja." Inoichi said making Naruto shake his head.

" I wasn't an official ninja when the accident happened. So as a civilian client I'm in charge of taking care of my own bills." Naruto said making Inoichi frown. He remembered arguing with the council about getting Naruto all the help the village could afford. Apparently the Village didn't get the message.

" Have you been eating well dear?" Izumi asked.

" I have." Naruto said as he remembered the number of fish he had caught during his solitary training to feed himself. He was glad no one cared if he lived off the land. He was also grateful for the running rivers that flowed through some of the training grounds.

Ino in the meantime wasn't sure how to feel. Being a child of a known clan had easily spoiled her, a fact she took advantage of yet easily forgot. Hearing that one of her peers could be struggling because of something bad that happened to him made her feel terrible. She could remember seeing him standing in the ruins of his old home, and how pitiful he looked in the hospital gown. She couldn't believe her mind had refused to remember that information, even if Naruto showed no signs of being affected by what happened to him. She couldn't help but let out a light smile of admiration as she caught glimpse of the type of person Naruto really was. One that refused to let the world put him down.

Izumi frowned a bit since she had a feeling Naruto wasn't being as well feed as he should be. Especially when he is in the stages of recovery after the attack at his home and the injuries he suffered from that attack. She made a mental note to have her daughter invite the golden blond over more often.

" So how's training under the legendary Copy Ninja like?" Inoichi asked since the Council hoped to turn Team Seven into a reliable assault team.

" I don't know who that is, but I can tell you about the lazy pervert that never heard about the existence of a clock." Naruto said with a hint of venom.

" You can't possibly mean Kakashi." Inoichi said with a frown on his face. He wasn't upset at Naruto but apparently at the man that was suppose to be guiding him.

" It's the only Jounin that has bothered to appear before Team Seven." Naruto said making Inoichi wonder why the golden blond had such negativity towards his squad leader.

" But your sensei is suppose to be one of the greatest Jounin in the village." Ino said making Naruto look at her.

" How would you know who my teacher is?" Naruto asked making Ino blush.

" I asked a few ninja about our Jounin Instructors, to get an idea on who they were." Ino said making Naruto give her a nod of approve which resulted with her smiling at him. Even if he knew that she only did it to get closer to her Sasuke-kun.

" Can you please tell us a bit dear, since during my career I never got to meet either Asuma or Kakashi." Izumi said making her daughter nod her head in excitement. The mother had heard of them but never gained any real personal experience. She also knew that her daughter was never one to spread false gossip.

" Well Asuma-sensei is the son of the Hokage, and before returning to Konoha he served as a Guardian to the Daimyo of Fire." Ino said making Naruto's eyes to grow.

_' I knew something was familiar about that guy when I saw him with Ino and her team.'_ Naruto thought as Ino said a few faults about her Sensei. Naruto felt a bit of envy fill him as Ino told them about the exercises they had gone through as a team. He made a mental not to take them for himself especially when Inoichi gave his daughter some hints to help her grow. It wasn't considered stealing since Ino was publicly speaking about her training.

" Team Eight has Kurenai-sensei.. she's suppose to be a Genjutsu specialist, along with her being recently promoted. Anything I've heard of her revolves around how cold she can be to guys asking her out. Kiba did tell me that she's teaching them a lot about tracking, along with helping them improve on their clan techniques." Ino said making Naruto more upset since even Kiba had a descent instructor, although probably the weakest among the three.

" What about Naruto's Teacher?" Izumi asked making Naruto wonder why she wasn't referring him as Uzumaki. What Naruto didn't know was that Ino gained her ability to attach to people easily thanks to her mother. It's what allowed the two females to make friends so easily.

"He's the Copy Cat Ninja... Kakashi of the Sharingan." Ino said with awe. " He's suppose to be one of the greatest ninja's ever produced in Konoha. His father was Hatake Sakumo who at one time had been a Yondaime Candidate." Ino said making Naruto fill with awe. " Not only is that amazing but Kakashi himself had been trained by the Yondaime during the Third Shinobi War." Ino said making Naruto flare his chakra in anger. He already knew that anyone trained by such a legend knew how to be a real Sensei, yet the man was anything but willing to play his role as instructor.

" I'm glad Kakashi was able to gain such honors before he started teaching." Naruto said with venom at the man in charge of his growth. " Let me tell you about Hatake Kakashi the Genin Leader." Naruto said making the Yamanaka family give him full attention.

" He orders us to appear hours before him and camp out at a training ground to wait for him. Then when he appears he makes us practice shinobi formations. Then he has us spar agaisnt each other which always ends up with Sasuke fighting Sakura and I before ending. Then we break for lunch which is a two hour break, might I add. And to end the day he accepts the longest and most boring missions available so that he can take it easy." Naruto said making the Yamanaka family look at him with disbelief. "Oh and to top it all off he never stops reading that stupid orange book." Naruto growled making Izumi very mad, she had a good idea what the book was. Inoichi was cursing Kakashi for more than one reason.

" So he hasn't bothered to teach you anything useful?" Inoichi asked.

" Other than being able to jump into any formation he needs to cast us aside?" Naruto said making Inoichi nod his head. "We haven't learned a damn thing... although Sasuke somehow keeps mysteriously learning new fire jutsus." Naruto said making Inoichi frown to grow.

" Maybe he is learning them thanks to his clan scrolls?" Ino said in the defense of the boy she favored because of his dark past.

" Last time I checked Konoha wasn't suppose to allow Genin to wield B-rank Jutsus... I know I'm not really allowed to point that fact out, but I know for a fact that Sasuke is forbidden from entering his clan's library. He used to brood about it during the academy." Naruto said making Ino's eyes to grow.

"Naruto's right. Clans are very protective of their family techniques. The Council made sure that Sasuke was to have limited growth to help prevent him from pushing himself to exhaustion. Naruto are you sure Sasuke is gaining new fire jutsus outside his rank?" Inoichi asked with a serious tone.

" I've either bought or read all the Katon Jutsus available to Genin. In the course of a month Sasuke has learned two I haven't seen... until I was browsing through the higher ranks to get an idea what I would like to buy one day." Naruto said making Inoichi nod his head in understanding since he had done the same in his youth.

" Have you learned any good Fire Jutsus?" Ino asked.

" Just some basics that wouldn't really do any good in a fight." Naruto said making Ino sigh a bit as her hope crashed. Of course Naruto had plans to play off his Mandarin Rings on Jutsus he had purchased or even on something he invented himself. The only problem he was having was the fact he had yet to truly understand how his inheritance worked. That and how to make it look like he was experimenting on making new jutsus. He knew it had to be a complicated process that most Genin couldn't pull.

" Could you show us one that isn't dangerous?' Izumi asked since she had never been able to properly use a fire jutsu during her career.

" Uh sure I guess?" Naruto said making the woman smile at him.

" How about once we're done with dinner? In fact we could even spare to see how far you have come." Inoichi said making Naruto study him. The golden blond knew that the interrogator wasn't doing this for his own good. The Yamanaka Head was plotting something and the Young Mandarin wasn't going to like it.

" I think that's a great idea, Inoichi is a seasoned Jounin that has already trained a Genin team that went on to becoming Chuunin during their early years together. He would be able to give you great pointers Naruto-kun." Izumi said with a smile making Naruto frown since he wasn't being allowed to deny the friendly invitation. Especially when he considered the fact he needed to win Ino's favor. He blamed Sakura for the crap he was soon going to go through.

" Daddy can I spar with you next?" Ino asked with some excitement since it had been a while since she had been able to test herself agaisnt her father.

" Of course princess, as soon as Naruto is done with his turn." Inoichi said making Naruto's right arm to make a fist. Lucky for the golden blond no one noticed.

Naruto enjoyed his dinner and once it was over Ino dragged him back to their game for that their food can settle down. Naruto didn't see the point of such actions since he never had a problem with eating and then doing something a few moments after. He wondered if that was an advantage given to him thanks to his status as a demon vessel.

Izumi soon entered the living room telling them that the backyard was prepared for the spar. Ino skipped to see the action while Naruto took his time since he was in no hurry to give the family anything they wanted.

" You should do some light stretching Naruto." Inoichi said making Naruto stare at him.

" I'll be fine." Naruto said with a bored tone making the man shrug his shoulders. Ino and Izumi frowning at the golden blond for not properly preparing.

" This is mostly going to be a taijutsu spar, along with some low level jutsus, meaning that you're free to use the basic jutsus as much as you want." Inoichi said making Naruto get into a defensive stance of the Mandarin Style. Inoichi instantly notice how Naruto shifted his body in a way to place his injured limb out of reach.

" GO!" Ino yelled as she swung her arm to start the match. Inoichi rushed at Low Chuunin speed to see how Naruto was going to react. He smirked at bit when saw the shock on the golden blond's face. Only to have the shock disappear and be replaced with a smirk as Naruto caught with a single hand Inoichi's opening kick.

Naruto went on to pull Inoichi off balance to deliver a knee strike to the man. Only to end up hitting a log thanks to a quick substitution. Naruto frowned as he tried his best to sense his opponent, which was proving to be a difficult task. Growing bored off the would be game of Cat and Mouse Naruto decided to draw the man out.

The golden blond quickly created four clones and made them create a perimeter around him. As the cloud began to part Inoichi rushed into it to catch Naruto off guard. One clone was instantly take out only to have the remaining three close in on Inoichi's location. The Yamanaka head calmly disposed off the clones that showed a good understanding of teamwork.

" Not bad Naruto but you're going to need more than that to make me take this match seriously." Inoichi said as he closed in on the young teen.

" I know." Naruto calmly said making two clones appear behind the man. One grabbed onto Inoichi's hair while the second delivered a hammer hit on the man chest when he was pulled backwards. Inoichi grunted from the sudden attack, he used his hands for balance while delivering kicks to the clones near him. The man jumped on his feet only to dodge a punch from his opponent.

Naruto then went into a kicking combo hoping to deliver some pain on the man testing him. Seeing Inoichi regaining the flow of the battle made Naruto jumped back and throw some Shuriken at the man. Inoichi calmly twisted away only to have the weapons exploded into a cloud of smoke. The mouths of the Yamanaka family dropped in shock at the squad of clones ready to pin the man down. Inoichi quickly switched with a log to escape the trap he had fallen into.

" How did Naruto do that?" Ino asked with awe.

" He transformed his clones into weapons and switches them back when the opportunity is best. A wonderful combination that would have worked on Genin and low level Chuunin." The man said after he used Shuriken to take out the clones. The problem he now faced was the lack of a golden blond.

" Thanks for the match Yamanaka-san... but the boss left during the creation of the first clones. I only got enough chakra for another quick clash and after that I'm gone." The Golden blond that walked out of the woods with a tired look said making Ino and Inoichi frown.

" How can he leave during a match?" Ino asked with an angry tone.

" The boss isn't crazy enough to think he can beat a Jounin. After they exchanged blows the boss got a good idea on the gap between them. He doesn't need his face beaten in just to know he has years of training to face your father as his equal. Besides the Boss came her on your behalf, not to face your father in restricted combat." The clone said making Ino blush lightly. " Oh and before I forget the boss wanted me to do one last thing." The clone said before launching a thin stream of fire at Inoichi.

"There's the fire jutsu he promised to show." The clone said before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

" So what's the verdict Inoichi? From what I saw its safe to say Naruto is very talented." Izumi said since she knew the teen had been fighting with a handicap few could ever surpass.

" He's a little rough but he's on the right track." Inoichi said making Ino smile at him. She liked the idea of her parents approving Naruto's skills. Of course she didn't know her father was upset that Naruto had escaped before he could deliver some hurt on him.

" My turn Daddy!" Ino yelled as she ran at her father and jumped to deliver a spinning roundhouse kick. The Yamanaka heir had been stretching as she watched her father spar with her fellow Rookie Genin.

+-*/\*-+

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he entered his team's training ground. He could see Sasuke brooding and Sakura bored out of her mind. He made a quick clone to deal with the wait while he went of to train. He left another clone to watch them so that it could warn him when it was time to return.

Naruto carefully scanned the area around him before making a dozen clones. They gave him a quick nod before making a perimeter and transforming into plant life and innocent creatures. They would make sure to prevent anyone from seeing his training. Naruto closed his eyes and began to strike at a large tree. Straight punches, chops, palm strikes, finger jabs, any form he could attack with his hands he did to hit the tree he picked as a target. He did each move a hundred times before repeating it with his other hand. After that he did a hundred kicks, he made sure to cover each of the basics moves the Mandarin Scroll talked about.

Once done with that form of body training Naruto worked on the first stance of the fighting style he was learning. From what he understood the Mandarin Style focused on three main factors of fighting. Endurance, Power and then Speed. The unique and painful training of the scroll was made to help harden the body in such a way that it would allow a follower to take blows most could not. It also provided key stretches and exercises to help strengthen natural weak points on the human body. One example was making a person double jointed by having their joints constantly broken then reset properly to make them easier to move. A process Naruto did not like but was thankful that he had clones willing to help. It was only due to his healing factor as a Jinchuuriki that he was able to skip many months of down time.

Naruto frowned as he remembered the fact that he still had four more styles to learn that all revolved around the Legacy of his Ancestor. However he smirked when he knew that his body was changing for the better. Day by day he could feel that it was taking more effort than before to hurt him. Naruto figured that because the man was so evil he had master the art of getting his ass kicked. Which in turn made an awesome fighting style if taught properly.

Naruto sent a clone to check on his team only for it to return to tell him there was no sign of their sensei. The blond growled before using that anger to fuel his training. The golden blond began to go through the few jutsus he knew. First he did them with the traditional hand seals. Then he did them through the one handed hand seals that Misty had some how gained. Apparently someone once wrote a book about new seals that could rival the usual ones when it came to chakra molding. Unfortunately for the world many Shinobi Villages felt such information would be too dangerous and decided to destroy it. Misty had made Naruto a copy but it came with a price, one that she had yet to collect.

He then worked on the Chakra Control exercises that Kabuto had given him. Naruto had still not touched water walking but he was already on his way to mastering Tree Climbing. Along with some lesser ones that helped him focus his chakra faster and at large quantities to his hands. Naruto would also do some light meditating to keep his mind sharp he refused to allow the Rings to drive him to madness. Even if they had yet to show signs of creating such plans.

And now came the fun part to the lone Uzumaki. He was going to work on his newest jutsu. Naruto had gone early that morning to pick up a defensive jutsu. He was glad that Inoichi made that recommendation since he had grown bored of jumping around so much to dodge Sasuke's attacks. If it wasn't for the fact Naruto had to keep his rings hidden Naruto would have fried his emo ass.

Naruto carefully read the scroll. It seemed like a simple jutsu. A ninja would make some hand seals, then they would slam a palm on the ground. A slab of dirt and stone would grow and protect the jutsu user. The problem was that the slab was only a meter tall in its first stages. Making it nearly useless when fighting anything that was ranked higher than a low Genin. Naruto had decided not to kill the store owner when he learned that more chakra and compacting it over and over would increase the size and density of the slab. Allowing it to become a much greater shield. Having memorized the seals Naruto closed the scroll and tucked it away. With time running out Naruto decided he would use one handed seals since he didn't want Konoha to know he could use both arms.

It was an hour before noon when Naruto had to stop his Doton training and go meet up with his team. He felt his training had been productive especially when he saw his Earth ring light up every time he finished the jutsu.

"Well team its time for training." Kakashi said after Sakura finished screeching at him. Lucky for Naruto the pinkette always gave him the opening he needed to return without his teammates catching on to his actions.

Training with Kakashi was once again boring for Naruto. And allowing the Uchiha to beat him was starting to annoy the golden blond. However he was going to be patient since he did not want to answer any questions they might gain from him showing off more than what he was suppose to know. That after noon they walked some dogs, a bulldog tried to give Naruto trouble. Only for the young Mandarin to create four clones to hold it down while a fit became a pink tutu to be worn by the masculine canine. Naruto smirked when the mutt learned not to mess with him. Kakashi had tried to stop his student from humiliating the beast but Naruto had ignored him. Since the mission asked for him to walk the dog, it never stated anything about him not abusing it.

With their mission over their team was free to do whatever they wanted. Sakura smiled at Naruto since the Hokage had chuckled good heartedly when Kakashi reported Naruto for forcing the large bulldog to dress in drag. The Sandaime ignored Kakashi's anger since he knew that certain ninja dog had the habit of causing Genin trouble.

By the time they reached the exit of the tower Team Seven saw a certain platinum haired Kunochi waiting by the main doors.

" You ready Naruto?' Ino asked making Naruto nod his head before following after her. Sakura frown as she saw Ino chatting away about her day as Naruto endured her blabbering.

She wanted to confront them about being together but she had to hurry home since her mother wanted her to do some shopping for their dinner.

Sasuke on the other hand went to his clan's training grounds to start his private training his Kakashi.

Naruto had taken Ino to a shop he hadn't been to before so that she wouldn't know his regular place. He picked up some Kunai and Shuriken while claiming he didn't have enough for the Defensive Jutsu. Ino made a pout but the golden blond informed her that he would help her master it as much as she wanted. That cheered the young Yamanaka up before she went to the counter and paid for her purchase. She also bought a few bandages since she was running low.

Naruto guided her to a training ground near her house since it would make it easy to walk her home. He was sure she would demand it if they trained past sun down and he wanted to spend as little time with her as possible until he finished building an immunity to her Ino-ness.

" Here I go." Ino said as he made the same hand seals Naruto had learned and she slammed her hand on the ground. Naruto's eyebrow grew as he saw the ground shift a bit before a lump half a size of his head popped out. Ino fell over panting from exhaustion before looking at her work.

'" That's it?" Ino asked with disbelief and betrayal, along with a lot of anger.

" You're not putting enough chakra into it." Naruto said making Ino look at him.

" But I put everything I had." Ino said making Naruto shake his head.

" From what you told me about the scroll you need to use your chakra to push the earth up. From what I felt most of your chakra was lost by spreading through the ground. Try to imagine your chakra traveling in a way that will help the jutsu work." Naruto said making Ino pout before nodding her head. She took a deep breathe and flashed through the seals again. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he saw how Naturally she did it even though she just learned the seals.

" Much better." Naruto said as she tripled the size of the slab while doubling its height. Ino didn't seem to believe him if the glare on her face was any indication of her thoughts on his words.

" Its suppose to be nearly two meters tall." Ino said making Naruto mentally groan.

" That's when you master it. This isn't something you learn over night Ino. Now do it one more time before we work on helping you channel chakra to your hands." Naruto said making Ino sigh before she did it again.

" Happy?" Ino asked as Naruto saw her work which was only as half as good as before but still better than her first try.

"At your progress yes, but its your attitude I can do without." Naruto said making Ino glare at her.

" Watch it Uzumaki its only our first day training together don't make me stop before we even get started." Ino said with a growl.

" Exactly its our first day, so why are you expecting to get things down so easily?" Naruto asked making Ino blush and look away.

" It doesn't matter, you won't be able to focus properly if your mad at your work. Lets spar to calm you down." Naruto said making Ino grin since she liked fighting as much as the next sane Kunochi.

" So what kind of spar will it be?" Ino asked as she stretched.

" Taijutsu only, I want to see how good you've become so I will only be blocking and dodging." Naruto said making Ino's grin to grow. What the Yamanaka didn't know was that such movements were the foundation of the Mandarin style.

Ino shifted into the Academy stance since she was still uncomfortable in her clan style. While Naruto once again went into the defensive form of the Mandarin.

" Now come at me." Naruto said making Ino charge. She leaped into a flying kick which Naruto side stepped and redirected with a push of his hand. Ino went into a roll to prevent a crash and charged at him again. She threw a series of punches as fast as possible only to have Naruto catch her hands with his single left one and let them go the moment she started to pull back. It resulted with Naruto halting her every assault without having her stop her movements. The golden blond calmly lead Ino around the training ground they were at as he blocked her every assault. Ino's awe and fury grew as Naruto used as minimal movement as necessary to stop her.

' Let's see him beat my sixteen hit combo.' Ino thought as she channeled chakra in her limbs. A grin grew on her face as Naruto's eyes grew with shock. It instantly vanished when Naruto matched her speed without chakra to enhance his abilities. Ino panted as Naruto held her last kick from connecting with his head. He stared directly at her eyes making her blush lightly since he seemed much more serious than usual. She saw a grin grow on him as he lowered her leg to the ground.

" You would have beaten Sakura with that last attack." Naruto said making her eyes to grow. " I can't believe how you suddenly doubled your speed before you attacked me."

" It was chakra enhancement... its sort of how we channel chakra to help us travel on rooftops and on tree branches." Ino said making Naruto confused. Her mouth wanted to drop when she her mind figured out he was matching most Genin with pure natural power instead of using chakra to help him. The idea of him doubling his impressive abilities with chakra made a shiver run down her body.

" No one ever taught you about enhancing your body with chakra?" Ino asked making Naruto look at her.

" Whenever I failed at something Iruka and Mizuki would tell me to train harder. So that's what I did, I worked on the training they gave me until I couldn't move no more." Naruto said making Ino look at him with shock.

" What kind of training did you have?" Ino asked.

" Punches, kicks, push ups, sit ups, and things of that nature. I didn't start touching chakra training until after graduation. This is the first time I even hear about chakra enhancement." Naruto said making Ino mad at the academy. Chakra Enhancement was the basic for all shinobi. Its what allowed them to move faster, hit harder, jump higher, last longer, and take more punishment.

" I'll teach you about chakra enhancements... as long as you start spending more time with me." Ino said with a blush since she knew her words could be taken the wrong way.

" As long as you want me to." Naruto said although he knew he refused to cut into his own training.

" Well the first step in chakra enhancement is..." Ino said only to have Naruto cut her off when he shook his head.

" We're not done sparring. From the look of horror that crossed your face its safe to say you aren't as physically strong as me. Much less a level I would find acceptable, so come at me Yamanaka, and gain strength through me." Naruto said making Ino blush more before she charged him. Naruto would make rude comment during their training to make her sloppy. He knew that he shouldn't do it but it would help Ino grow. And he refused to have his Sakura barrier be weaker than the girl he wanted to escape from.

The sun had settled down as Naruto traveled through the streets of Konoha. Ino resting as he used a single hand to carry her bridal style. Naruto found this a bit challenging but he was starting to get used to it. The platinum blond had her head resting on his chest as his breathing was starting to put her to sleep. Izumi smiled after she saw the golden blond walk up to her with Ino asleep in his arms. The woman had been sweeping the grounds in front of the flower shop before leading the one arm using teen into her home. Naruto followed her to Ino's room before gently placing the Kunochi in Training on her bed.

" I'll be leaving now Yamanaka-san." Naruto said making Izumi nod her head since the woman had to tuck her daughter in. She could see through Naruto's eyes that he had no plan of causing her family any trouble.

Naruto smirked at his day with Ino. Once he got past her being an annoying teenage girl he could see the promising Kunochi waiting to take on the world. The longer he trained with Ino the easier it was for him to deal with her. He hadn't had that much fun with another person since the last time the guys had hanged with him.

Naruto watched as the full moon shined on him. His smirk turning into a grin as he imagined the future waiting for him to take. He couldn't wait until the day he could show his true power, until then he would buy his time and find ways to play off his skills. He knew he had a tough time ahead of him, but he was the Mandarin and he would succeed and he would damn the world if it got in his way. He had a legacy to fulfill and a kingdom to restore, he would stand as King over the Five Great Nations and there was nothing that was going to stop him.

+-*/\*-+

GatsuBerk: Hoped you enjoyed this chapter and sorry for the delay. I had some problems hit me and my profile will explain what happened and my plans. So thanks for reading and please be patient if you are a fan of my other stories. I'm being forced to rewrite chapters I had already made and its taxing me to get the right feel on this poor imitations I am making. But I will do my best even if my grammar and spelling sucks... Review and take care. I should have all my stories updated a fair amount before the 25 of December...Ja Ne!

P.S. For those that don't know the Mandarin comes from the Ironman series that is made by Marvel Comics... something I do not own but have been wanting to mess with. Sakura will not be with Naruto in this story she will be a very emotional thorn at his side but nothing else. I don't have any real plans for Naruto's love life other than making Ino into a Banshee meat shield. Hopefully soon I will be able to give you an idea of what I have planned. As soon as things calm down I will be updating more often... this I swear!


	13. The Lying Drunk

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**Chapter 13 : The Lying Drunk.**

**+-*/\*-+**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

***Jutsu***

_**Last Time on Mark of Failure:**_

_Naruto smirked at his day with Ino. Once he got past her being an annoying teenage girl he could see the promising Kunochi waiting to take on the world. The longer he trained with Ino the easier it was for him to deal with her. He hadn't had that much fun with another person since the last time the guys had hanged with him._

_Naruto watched as the full moon shined on him. His smirk turning into a grin as he imagined the future waiting for him to take. He couldn't wait until the day he could show his true power, until then he would buy his time and find ways to play off his skills. He knew he had a tough time ahead of him, but he was the Mandarin and he would succeed and he would damn the world if it got in his way. He had a legacy to fulfill and a kingdom to restore, he would stand as King over the Five Great Nations and there was nothing that was going to stop him._

+-*/\*-+

The sounds of blows filled the air of a training ground in Konohagakure. Bodies blurred to the untrained eyed as attacks attempted to reach their target. Uzumaki Naruto came to a sliding stop as his glared down one of his copies that had been attacking him. He refused to spare it any more attention as he worked on fighting off the three additional clones he made to focus on his Taijutsu training. His style of fighting was completely defensive, which meant it was difficult to master it without a partner to work on. However the Young Mandarin had no such problems thanks to the number of obedient of clones he could produce.

The real blond caught a kick and twisted the ankle of his attacker before flipping him away. Naruto was finally starting the final stages of the Stance of Earth. It was the foundation of his style, the basic of all basics, allowing him to build his body in away that would allow it to survive the Styles that followed. From what he read most Mandarin based fighters would only reach the third Stance before reaching their limit. Naruto knew he had no such problem since he was the new Mandarin and the fact he was a Jinchuuriki which meant that there was no human limit he couldn't surpass.

Naruto's Sapphire eyes narrowed as his clones charged in as one. He calmly avoided their strikes and only blocked when he couldn't dodge. He would counter if his clones hesitated to escape his range. Naruto grinned half an hour later when he finished off his clones by overpowering them. He knew he had grown in strength, his training proved that lone fact. But he was unsure if he had grown as a Shinobi. He wished for a proper battle to test his abilities.

Kakashi always arrived too late to properly train his team. Sasuke didn't care since he was going to get afternoon training. Sakura didn't really care since she didn't suspect anything being wrong with that since she was normally worn out from the team exercises. Naruto was deciding to stop letting it bother him since he was using the time to train himself. He refused to allow others to limit his growth.

" Alright team now that we finished the first part of our exercises how about some friendly spars?" Kakashi said with eye smile that was starting to annoy the golden blond. Naruto watched the ten minute fight between Sakura and Sasuke. Like always it revolved around Sasuke toying with the poor girl. Naruto wanted to slit Sasuke's throat and then that of Kakashi. However if Sakura refused to make herself stronger he would not risk falling into her temptation just to help her.

Ino had started to wait for him at the tower since her team finished much quicker than hers. Then they would leave together to train which always resulted with Naruto carrying the Yamanaka Heir home. Sakura had confronted Naruto about him spending time with Ino. The golden blond merely stated he was training with a friend. Before the pinkette could ask him to train with her Naruto used his arm as an excuse to go home.

Such events had started over a week and half ago... it seemed to Naruto that Sakura had either given up or was plotting some way to separate them. The problem with that mentality was that Naruto was already working Ino over. It wasn't just Kunochi that gained training in Seduction, Naruto remembered hearing in his Sex Ed class how it was always recommended to compliment a Kunochi during battle. It always seemed to throw their game off. Which is what Naruto would do to make his spars more interesting. One day he would piss Ino off by insulting her skills, clan and team. The next day he would praise her as if she was the next winner of the Miss. Fire Country contest. However it didn't stop there, Naruto had been keeping an eye open and listening to the older Shinobi at the Runaways. It was one of the places that he felt welcomed even if the men and women there had their loyalty to the village questioned. The older Shinobi once drunk had no problem teaching a brat the ropes of being a proper Ninja. Some had even gone as far as give him jutsus, Jutsus written by a drunk which resulted in some horrible unreadable garbage Naruto usually had to throw away.

However what Naruto wanted was the stories, the experience the men and women gained through out their battles. He would listen at how his fellow ninja would use every advantage available to win. Some going as far as using their own teammates as bait while they circled around in the safety outside a battle before killing their enemy. Not only did they gain a successful kill, but they also got to be the hero of the mission by treating the injuries of their allies. Once again the Mandarin Scroll had somehow been proven right. Head on attacks were clearly for fools. Let the honor hungry idiots charge to their deaths, for it was patience and a proper training that guaranteed victory.

Then there was also his three Sempai that would take Naruto on Friday afternoon to work outside the village. Kabuto would always have the most interesting missions. It usually involved them transporting storage scrolls all through fire country, or attacking bandit camps and rogue Shinobi outpost. Even if the three traitorous men were labeled Genin Naruto knew they had at least the strength of Chuunin. And the golden blond had never seen someone heal at the level of the Glasses wearing medic. He assumed it would be difficult for some Jounin to defeat the Nerdy looking ninja. What Naruto didn't like was how Kabuto kept hinting for him to meet someone that could truly help him. Always making promises of Naruto gain power he didn't know he head. Of course Naruto didn't buy into it since the Mandarin Rings were all the power he needed.

And thanks to Misty and her Yakuza family he was gaining more secrets of the Mandarin Empire. Some things he didn't even know existed, one example being that the Mandarin had once defeated and then enslaved a Dragon to serve him. Naruto thought that was the most bad ass thing he had ever heard. Dragons were rare in the Elemental Countries but they were easily labeled equal to the most powerful Boss Summons and some could give a Bijuu a good fight. However the Mandarin's Dragon had apparently been lost once the man had died and those that would seek it would never be heard of again. It seemed the beast was not ready to serve a new master.

Naruto also learned about the following Mandarins and how their reign of evil ended before it could truly begin. Naruto of course couldn't blame them since gathering the rings was a task nearly impossible to accomplish. And those that had been found were now lost at the hands of people that didn't even know what power they held. Still Naruto refused to allow himself to become discouraged, he would find the rings, claim them as his own and do what he whatever the hell he wanted since there would be no one available to oppose him.

" Naruto its time for you to face Sasuke." Kakashi said making the golden blond to sigh. He wasn't in the mood to deal with his avenging teammate. He wanted to get stronger, gain minions and find the rings. The order of those three goals would change every other day. One day he wanted to train to become better than the day before, so that he can best fools thinking that they could challenge him might. The next day he wanted to give up his status as a Konoha nin to start his Crusade to resurrect the Fallen Jade Empire. And on the last he wanted to form his own Group to help him with his goals. This idea had developed when Naruto bought about war and being a leader apparently a leader was only as good as those he lead. Which was something that made Naruto frown since he only lead easily killable copies of himself. He was going to have to fix that problem as soon as possible. He made a mental note to put more effort in claiming Ino.

Naruto calmly walked towards the center of the training field. A look of complete boredom filling his face. Sasuke didn't like it and was ready to smack off Naruto's face.

" Begin." Kakashi said making his raven haired student to charge.

Naruto had yet to take up any official stance as Sasuke closed in the gap between them. Sasuke threw a punch only for Naruto to jump backwards from it. A smirk growing on the Uzumaki's face since now Sasuke had terribly missed making contact. Sasuke growled before flipping through some seals. Small balls of fire flew towards Naruto before bombarding him and the area he stood at. Sakura filled with disbelief at how quick Sasuke was willing to use a powerful jutsu just because things weren't going his way. Before the smoke of the attack could be blown away Naruto appeared out of a cloud of smoke behind Sasuke.

Kakashi nodded his approve at the young blond that had secretly dropped a few Kunai when Sasuke threw the first punch. The Jounin had sensed the golden blond using the Kawarimi a moment before the fire could hurt him. Sasuke grunted in pain at the vicious kick Naruto delivered to his head. The last loyal Uchiha rolled with his sudden momentum to ensure no further damaged was made. Sasuke finally came to a stop and saw three Narutos charging him. He braced himself in the Interceptor Style of the Uchiha Clan. As the clones began to fight Sasuke off the real Naruto threw a Kunai with a flash tag at Sasuke's feet. The Uchiha hadn't noticed since Naruto had thrown it as low as possible from some bushes.

Sakura had filled with a bit of awe as she saw the change in Naruto's fighting style. Kakashi once again approved Naruto's decision to hide and make a secondary attack when the opportunity presented itself. The golden blond standing perfectly still was a fourth clone that Naruto had made while he was covered in the smoke of the first three. Then Naruto had once again used Kawarimi to switch himself this time with a rock the size of a fist. With Sasuke distracted with pain the raven haired Genin had failed to see the trap that had been set up in mere seconds.

Sasuke covered his eyes as light and sound blinded his main senses. He then felt a strong leg sweep him off the ground as two fist punched his chest making him slam his back on the grassy field. Finally to end the match He felt four hands turn him over before holding him down with their bodies.

Sasuke didn't need to see or hear that Naruto had successfully captured him.

" Good work Naruto." Kakashi said with pride, the man was glad to know that the son of his Sensei was able to grow strong on his own. He made a note to give Naruto a gift for surprising him with his skill.

" Now that this Spar is over lets go get our mission." Naruto said making Kakashi nod his head while Sakura looked at the two boys in her life with confusion and awe. Naruto popped his neck before turning his back on Sasuke and heading towards the tower. Once he was a safe distance away the clones disappeared and allowed Sasuke to his feet. The Young Uchiha frowning at the fact that Sakura rushed to learn about how Naruto had come up with such a plan to beat their stronger teammate.

" Who said Sasuke was stronger?" Naruto asked Sakura with a smirk making her so shocked that her mouth refused to work. Kakashi chuckling at Sakura since he had wondered why Naruto seemed so restrained when he had previously trained with Sasuke. The man assumed that his student was gaining all the information on Sasuke's fighting style to develop a proper way to face him. The Jounin felt the last Uchiha dug his own grave by giving Naruto more than enough since the start of their first spars. That and Sasuke was beginning to become a one trick pony. Naruto had figured out Sasuke's style. He would start things off with Taijutsu, if that wasn't enough he would use a Fire Jutsus, if he got pushed back he would use Taijutsu and then counter with a final Fire Jutsu. Along the way he would throw Kunai and Shuriken to give himself an opening to take advantage of.

Inner Sakura was working up a storm as she tried to stabilize Sakura's mind as her world continued to change thanks to a certain golden blond. The more aggressive voice of Sakura was running around like a chicken with her head cut off. There was too much happening too fast for her to handle. She quickly smashed the smack Naruto button with all her might in hopes of it reseting her reality. Unfortunately that button had been disabled by the real Sakura and the fact that it had gone so long without use.

As Sasuke took his time to reach his team Kakashi turned to the two Genin walking behind him.

" Naruto why don't you go home and pick up your house guest? I'm sure its safe to say they have overstayed their welcome." Kakashi said making Naruto frown at him. The golden blond knew he was talking about but he couldn't figure out how the man knew about the demon cat that was taking shelter at his home.

" What are you talking about Sensei?" Sakura asked with confusion.

"Why don't you go find out for yourself Sakura? I guarantee it will be a pleasant experience." The Jounin said making Sakura more confused. Naruto glared at the man before jumping to the rooftops and heading to his apartment.

" Naruto wait." Sakura said as she rushed after him. Kakashi chuckling as his Genin accomplished a mission that had driven a few dozen Genin Squads nuts. For the last two weeks the man had seen his fellow ninja hunting the feline in Konoha. Only to gain no leads of the whereabouts of the Daimyo's pet. Some of the Higher rank ninja began to fear that one Genin had finally snapped and killed the cat. Not wanting the Sandaime to summon a spare Tora Kakashi asked the Hokage to let his team take the job of finding the hell spawned cat. The man had remembered how Tora had somehow remained with Naruto of its own free will. The man assumed the beast liked his student and knowing the type of People Naruto could become the man figured the golden blond wouldn't have a problem housing Tora.

Of course Tora had been careful to not give its new sanctuary away. The cat would leave in the morning when Naruto left. Spend the day lazing around unless it had to deal with some Genin. Then when it was ready to go home it would find Naruto who take it home without any noticing what was really going on.

Sasuke had gained some confusion at seeing his sensei send the loser and Sakura away but when he saw Kakashi call to him the Genin figured that it was to tell him something important.

" Make sure to stay at my side Sasuke I wouldn't want you to get lost." Kakashi said making the member of the Elite Uchiha clan to frown. The two then walked in silence as they got in line to get their daily mission for their team.

" Its time to go cat." Naruto said as he opened the door to his apartment. He was glad to see Tora was eating the cat food he had bought. It let out a meow full of defeat making Naruto shrug its shoulders.

" Remember the deal, the faster you can escape the Capital the longer you can stay here." Naruto said making Tora gain a face full of determination. It jumped on Naruto shoulders and received a quick and gentle pat on its head for being brave. Naruto then locked the door of his home and headed towards the tower. He found a Sakura full of shock standing on a rooftop on the other side of his apartment.

" Lets get this mission over with Sakura." Naruto said making the pinkette nod her head in silence and follow him.

" So all this time?" Sakura asked with a whisper.

" For the last week... I offer it sanctuary and I would turn it in a week or two later." Naruto said making Sakura shake her head at the prank the blond and pampered cat was pulling on the village. She giggled when she figured out Kakashi knew what was going on.

" What the hell?" A Chuunin said as the two Genin came in with the Demon Cat while neither sporting any bruises or cuts. The man pinched himself to break a Genjutsu that he had taught was placed over the village. Seeing his allies do the same the man decided to accept the odd phenomenon.

Sakura couldn't help the smile that grew on her face as she saw the look on disbelief on the ninja of the tower. She knew she wasn't responsible for catching the elusive cat but it was nice having people congratulate her. She nearly broke down laughing when Naruto told a fellow Genin Squad that how he caught Tora was his secret and his alone.

" And so Team Seven you are now in charge of finding Tora." The Sandaime said with a sigh as the sound of hysterical crying could be heard next to him.

" Please find my baby... he must be cold, frightened and pick on by some mean old alley cats." The rich and larger than life woman said making the ninja round her to sweat drop. The idea of that ninja evading beast was ridiculous in their mind since they knew it had ended the careers of some Genin.

" I assure you that Tora is fine." Naruto said as he entered the room with Sakura and the Cat on his shoulder looking far more calm than anyone had ever seen it.

"Tora!" The Daimyo wife yelled making the cat flinch before it was tossed gently towards the woman's direction by Naruto's shoulder.

" Go on your master is waiting." Naruto said as the cat looked at him before it ran and hoped one the woman's shoulder and nuzzled her face.

" Oh my Tora you're tickling me." The woman said with a giggle at the affection the cat was giving showing it.

" Mission accomplished Hokage-sama." Sakura said before giggling at the Legendary Professor that just had his pipe fell. The last time Team Seven brought Tora in Naruto had to restrain it by the neck and now the blond got it to go willing to one of their most highest paying clients.

" Where did you find it?" Iruka asked since he couldn't believe two Genin could have gotten the cat on a mere coincidence.

" Kakashi-sensei sent me on an errand and we ran into him along the way. We brought him to the tower since we knew how much his master would miss him." Naruto said with a straight face.

" We didn't know Sensei was going to pick the mission to get him when we went to do Naruto's errand." Sakura honestly said since she hadn't learn that fact until after seeing Tora and piecing the pieces together to solve the puzzle.

" Well I'm glad that the Hokage has some competent Ninja working for him. Thank you for finding and taking care of my dear Tora. Make sure to give the change to these two Genin. They're going to make a name of themselves I just know it. Let's go home Tora and tell my husband about your heroes." The Daimyo's wife said making the eyes of the Ninja to grow. This was of course after leaving nearly tripled the normal amount for the mission. The woman had become so worried that she had planned on properly rewarding the team for catching her cat.

" Good work team." Kakashi said as he handed the Mission scroll back to the Hokage. Making the elderly man to look at it and then the smiling genin before stamping it a success. The man couldn't help but feel he was missing something.

" Would you like to take another D-rank since the day is still early?" Iruka asked since he was proud of his former students especially Naruto since it clearly had been the blond that got the mischievous cat.

" A C-rank would be nice." Naruto suggested making Sasuke smirk and Sakura worry.

" I agree with Naruto. Hokage-sama I would like to formally request a C-rank Mission for my Team." Kakashi said making the room shocked since Team Seven would be the first Rookie team of the year to get a C-rank. Along with the fact that they had the least number of missions and had only been together a little under two months. There was also rumors of the team not performing how the Council and the Village had hoped. Naturally the blame was placed on the demon restraining golden blond.

" Are you sure Kakashi?" The Sandaime said making Kakashi pull out his orange book to read. The Village leader sighed at the actions of his Elite Ninja before grabbing a scroll from the C-rank Section. Iruka wanted to advice them that such a thing wasn't safe but he was outranked by Kakashi and the Hokage that was giving into the request. A Chuunin near the client waiting room caught the number of the mission request and quickly went to get the client.

" The client name is Tazuna, he's the best Bridge Builder in all the Elemental Nations." The Sandaime said as he offered the scroll to Team Seven. Sakura took it with hesitation since Sasuke wasn't willing to sink so low and Naruto nod his head for her to do it. She thank the village leader with a bow before handing it to Kakashi who took it with a smile. The man pocketed the request before returning to his book.

" He is currently building a bridge between Wave and Fire Country. Your job is to guard him and the bridge until its completion. Tazuna expects no threats greater than bandits and small thieves that have started to plauge his home." The Monkey Summoner said to the team making Sakura nod her head along with Naruto. While Sasuke grunted a response, Kakashi only let out a perverted giggle.

" This is the team that is going to protect me? If you ask me they don't look like they know which end of the knife they are suppose to hold." Tazuna said as he entered the room making the Genin glare at him.

" Don't let their looks fool you." The Daimyo's wife said as she pushed her way through some Chuunin. " The blond one and the cute Kunochi are very talented, and I'm sure the Sandaime wouldn't team them up with a weakling, otherwise he would hold them back." The large woman said making Sakura blush at the praise, Sasuke glare at her, many mouths drop at what she said about the Uchiha prodigy, while Naruto smirked at the shots she took on Sasuke. The Sandaime and Kakashi chuckling at the things the wife of their Daimyo had said.

" Did Tora escape again?" The Sandaime asked with disbelief when he didn't see it in her hands.

" Oh no, my Tora is a good boy." The rich woman said as the cat popped over her shoulder in the same way Naruto would travel with him. She gave it a light pat on the head before smiling at the Genin that had brought in her beloved cat. " I forgot to ask my two new favorite Genin for their names. I want to properly tell my husband of which Ninja he should prepare to hire on a regular basis."The woman said making Naruto clear his throat.

" My name is Uzumaki Naruto, my cute teammate is Haruno Sakura." Naruto easily said making Sakura blush as he moved his hand in front of her. He was fortunate she was standing on his left since they had turned to look at Tazuna and no longer faced the Sandaime." Our third teammate is Sasuke of the Uchiha Clan...our Sensei is Hatake Kakashi, former student of the Yondaime Hokage." Naruto said making the room fill with a bit of shock as they were reminded of Kakashi's Jounin instructor. While the Sandaime and Kakashi wondered how Naruto learned about that.

" And it is our pleasure serving you, my lady, the Ninja of Konohagakure are always willing to help the Royal Family. For it is because of the grace of your family that we, undeserving shadows, can find Honor." Naruto said as he shocked the woman and Tazuna by kneeling with his left arm over his chest and his head down in submission.

An action that was followed by the Chuunin and Jounin. Sakura had instantly copied Naruto since she knew that the Royal Family of Fire practically owned them and their village. Sasuke was a little hesitant to kneel, but he did it when Kakashi had forced him to. Of course the Copy Ninja did it in a way that was not noticed by their clients.

The Sandaime smiled at the old traditional show of respect that was normally only used in the presence of the Daimyo and his heir. The elder man and his ANBU being the only Shinobi and Kunochi not kneeling in respect. The Hokage was not required to kneel, since he ranking was only under the Daimyo of Fire and the ANBU had to remain on guard to ensure the safety of the wife of their master.

" Rise Noble Shinobi of Fire. Your show of loyalty is most welcomed. I will inform my dear husband of how such young and promising ninja keep true to the oath of your founders." The large woman said with the air and voice of a true woman of high nobility. Tazuna made a mental note to stop drinking because he could have sworn he saw her lose half her weight in a blink of an eye. It revealed a woman that would easily fill the role of a wife of the ruler of one of the strongest of the Elemental Nations.

"By your word." Naruto said at the same time as his fellow ninja. The large woman smiling at the actions of the Shadows of her husband. It had been years since she had been reminded of her true standing in the world.

" I told you they were good." The woman said as she walked past the stunned Tazuna to head home. Her mind filling with how she was going to get her husband to send more work to their ninja. Now that she thought about it she didn't understand why the man was even sending work to Shinobi outside of Konoha. She would fix that mistake while making sure that Naruto and Sakura were properly rewarded. Especially Naruto, she liked the like the boy since Tora seemed to favor him so much.

" The boy just guaranteed us more work from the Capital." The ANBU Captain in the room whispered to the Sandaime while no one saw him.

" I know." The elder ninja answered back with a look of pride.

" Team I want you to prepare enough gear for a month. Take care of any and all your business to accommodate the amount of time we will be gone. You are to report to the Main Gates in two hours." Kakashi said making his Genin to nod their heads. The one visible eye Jounin showing a form of authority none had seen before. " Tazuna-san we should check you out of your hotel room and gather your things." Kakashi said to the man that nodded his head before following the team out of the room.

" I guess those rumors about team seven wasn't true." A Chuunin said making Iruka shrug his shoulders since he wasn't sure what to believe.

_' Playing that woman for a fool was easy. I need to make a few final runs before I go meet the others.' _Naruto thought as he finished packing his travel bag. It was a black pack that allowed him to carry a fair amount of things. He had spoiled himself by buying a large and expensive sleeping bag.

Naruto sent one clone to Kabuto to tell him he was going to be gone for at least a month maybe more. The told Naruto to keep his guard up once he got close to the border of Wave. He then went on to give him a few antidote injections that the medic had made himself. Along with a few scrolls the man felt Naruto could benefit from. He then gave Naruto a few medical supplies just in case the worst was to happen. It was all contained in a Shinobi Pouch Kabuto had ready in case his team was sent to do field work. The clone thanked the man before leaving with the gifts, Kabuto chuckling since he knew Naruto's experience in Wave wasn't going to be a boring one.

Naruto had one clone go to the Yamanaka's flower shop in hopes of telling Ino's mother that he was not going to be around. To the clones shock Ino was at the shop helping since Choji had gotten beef poison by eating some food that wasn't properly cooked. The clone couldn't believe how impatient the well rounded Genin could be. Since the clone had officially done its task Ino quickly got it to help her with the shop shores. The clone being much kinder than the original easily gave in. Which Ino took as Naruto opening up to her. Izumi found it cute and frowned a bit at the idea of Naruto being gone from the village so long.

Another clone went to a Shinobi shop to get some last minute supplies along with something for him to work on during his time in wave. He also bought a storage scroll to hold the Mandarin Scroll so that Naruto could train with it while he was away.

The real Naruto walked into Misty's Bar, the one eyed bar keep nodded his head towards him. While the thugs working for the ginger haired woman greeted him. They all knew that their lady favored the blond as an ally and that the riches he gained from the Daimyo of Earth was helping them regain their lost control in Fire Country. Not to mention Naruto had done a few side jobs in which he provided some extra muscle by Transforming his clones to look like nameless thugs when a turf battle was to start. They only worked on quick raids but the Yakuza members appreciated the help since it lowered their death count.

" What brings you to me, my young mandarin?" Misty said as Naruto entered her room like he owned the place.

" I'm heading to Wave country to protect a man named Tazuna." Naruto said with a calm tone.

" Tazuna the Bridge Builder?" Misty asked with shock as she spilled her favorite drink.

" You know of him?" Naruto asked with a bit of shock since he didn't think the man was as important as the Sandaime had made him seem to be.

" A few years ago he was the greatest Architect and Engineer the world had ever seen. However Gato of Gato Industries took control of Wave and ruined Tazuna. But even as a rude drunk the man can still build one hell of a bridge." Misty said making Naruto nod his head.

" Then what's the problem?" Naruto asked.

" The problem is that one of the richest men in the world placed a hit on him." Misty said making Naruto's eyes to grow. " A man who is as deep in the underworld as I am." The beautiful woman said making Naruto frown.

" In other words he's dangerous." Naruto said making Misty nod her head.

" Even more so that I, since he has a_** little**_ problem that is always causing him some self doubt. Prepare yourself Young Mandarin for this man has no problem with sending your kin to kill you and anyone foolish enough to protect Tazuna. A shame really since Tazuna's Bridge would have been the key to freeing Wave from Gato's hold." Misty said making Naruto look at the clock.

" Do you believe this Gato will have someone to equal Kakashi's strength?" Naruto asked making Misty look at him.

" Not many can match Konoha's Copy Ninja... and I doubt Gato will bother to believe the Bingo Book. He's always been ignorant and spiteful to Shinobi. It's why he only hires missing nin and then he goes and..." Misty said before a grin grew on her face. " My dear Mandarin perhaps there is a way for us to take advantage of the actions of the bridge builder." Misty said as she sat down to talk business with the blond that was surely becoming her best partner.

" Enlighten me." Naruto said as he also sat down.

" I know how Gato thinks, I can arrange it for you to sweep in and claim all that is his as your own. For a small fee of course." Misty said with a predatory tone.

"Name your price?" Naruto said making Misty smirk.

" A fifteen percent cut, along with your permission to manage Wave and to ensure it remains under your control. Gato's reach is far and wide, but if done properly we can take down his empire before a new leader takes command of his resources. All you need to do is make sure Gato is killed, take the majority of his money that he always keeps close and I'll have my men attack his branches and inform his open businesses about the change of management." Misty said making Naruto close his eyes and think.

" No..." Naruto said making Misty's eyes to grow with disbelief before a great fire grew in them.

" How dare you? Do you have any idea of the value of the offer I'm giving you? And you dare go and throw my generosity to my face? I expected you of all people to know how to value those that treat a person as an equal." Misty growled only to have Naruto spike his chakra and glare at her.

" You shouldn't be making such assumptions of me woman." Naruto said as Misty's guards tried to defend her since the blond stood with rage. The four men were easily taken down by two clones. One would kick their feet out while the second would knock them out with a hit to the back of the head. Misty filled with fright as Naruto's chakra manifested itself as black and red flames. She saw as his eyes begin to slant as his features as Kyuubi's vessel began to enhance themselves making him look more feral. She let out a gasp of disbelief as the bandages around Naruto's ruined limb burst into flames to expose a wicked metal arm with claws she would not dare to face.

_'This whole time he's been fooling us all.'_ The woman thought as she saw his right hand clenched into a fist. The metal wrapped over it making a harmonic sound as it glided over it self. Her eyes grew with fear as she saw the two rings Naruto claimed as they glow with a promise of great power ready to be used.

" I was not arguing your price." Naruto said making Misty look at him with shock. " What I did not like was the fact you wanted to risk your men, agents that have gained your loyalty in a battle that they don't have to join. With Gato being is so willing to hire Nuke Nin, I had wanted to know what was stopping us from doing the same." Naruto said making Misty's eyes to grow with disbelief. His right arm moved at speed she couldn't see and grabbed her by the neck before pulling her over his desk. Her face ended only inches from his own.

" Till this day you never gave me a reason to doubt you. And I had no problem providing you with the things you desired since it was always a reasonable price." Naruto growled as his eyes locked onto hers. " Yet you have shown me that you doubt me without reason. How am I to do business with a woman that I must now watch to see if she holds a dagger to my back? How am I to know you won't sell me out when the moment is most convenient to you."

" I'm sorry... I... I didn't know if Danzo or Kabuto have started changing you. You've spent so much time from my presence that... that I feared you weren't the same as before." Misty said with a struggling breathe. Since Naruto had gained the second ring the only contact the two had was when she would send word to give Naruto work.

" You think so little of me?" Naruto growled.

" No!... I over estimated Danzo's and Orochimaru's power. I should have known you of all people would never give in to others." Misty said with pain as Naruto refused to break eye contact with her. He tossed her back making her hit her chair and start coughing to regain her breath.

" When I return I expect all that is mine waiting for me to take without problems." Naruto said making Misty's eyes to grow with disbelief. She watched as he began to walk towards the door to leave.

" You can't do that... My group... I need that money to regain my father's legacy." Misty said making Naruto stop.

" That's your problem." Naruto said making the hope Misty had for regaining everything he father worked for walk out of her life.

" The favor." Misty gasped with desperation. " The favor you owe me... I want you to forgive me and to give me your trust once more... I swear to trust you as much as you trust me... and to bring my doubts before you so that no more misunderstandings can occur between us. Just like how I wish for you to now do the same." Misty pleaded since she needed his money, Naruto was her greatest supporter and thanks to his efforts she was regaining Konoha. She needed to stay in his favor otherwise her days were soon to end.

" I never doubted you." Naruto said making Misty fill with disbelief. " Although I knew you came from questionable origins and that your business was a dark one... I never allowed those facts to get in the way of our business. You were always my equal and an advisor I treasured. I will give you one last chance, fail me again and you will find yourself alone." Naruto said as he turned his head.

" I must leave now, you must hurry and find me Shinobi willing to work for us without asking questions. Send me word when your preparations are complete, for I will send you word of how things are going down." Naruto said before leaving his clones disappeared and Misty grabbed at her neck. She had felt his right metal covered arm begin to cut into her neck due to the sharpness of his claws. She cursed herself for allowing her doubts to nearly ruin her chances to honor the memory of her father. Her heart knew that Naruto had no plans to betray her yet her mind feared the worst. She had already been betrayed before when things were improving only to create far more damage than before. And with Naruto doing business with Konoha's War Hawk and the Traitorous White Snake she had assumed he was no longer working for his own gain.

" We should kill him for hurting you." A loyal guard from her childhood said making Misty pull her hand back from her neck Her green eyes stared into the red liquid marking her hand.

" This blood I spilled is a small price to pay for making a fool of myself." Misty said making her guard fill with shock.

" This Mandarin has no plans to strip me of my power, our group, my standing in the underworld is so beneath him that he has no plans to bother with it. He plans to rule over the world and will allow me to rule all that is hidden from the world. Had he been anyone else he would have never been true to his word. Instead he allowed me to cash in a favor that I no longer deserved. This time... this time I will not fail him or our family. We will watch as the Mandarin rises to power and we will ensure that his campaign is a profitable one." Misty said making her guard nod his head. Although he was unsure of how far Naruto can go.

Misty knew of his doubt but she could feel a power hidden deep within of Naruto. It was a power she knew few men would ever be born with it. Men that were destined to shape the world to their liking. But Naruto's power was more than that. He didn't just change the world but he changed the people in it. Before Naruto entered her life she had seen many of her men preparing to turn sides.

Yet it was Naruto's presence, the fact that Naruto picked her to work with, that allowed her to regain control of her men. She knew of other families trying to persuade Naruto into siding with them. However such actions was nearly impossible to accomplish. The reason being that all ninja belonged to Konoha and couldn't be used as muscle. And those brought from outside the walls of the village soon found themselves in the presence of Morino Ibiki or worse Mitarashi Anko.

She also knew that no family could ever gain enough of a force to over power Naruto. Since she doubted Konoha would allow a thousand armed goons to walk her streets. This was the reason that Naruto was able to walk in the underworld with such ease. She knew Danzo and Orochimaru had the boy marked but she was feeding both sides false information. Only those most loyal to her knew about her dealings with Naruto. And those four were always at her side. She also made sure for them to understand that when they are out of her sight they can expect a blade waiting to finish them for the slightest hint of betrayal. Of course such actions were unnecessary since they were men that had respected her father, and would honor his memory through her.

_' I can trust Naruto, as long as I give him a reason to trust me. I will not fail the Mandarin, my father or myself.'_ Misty thought as she cleaned her desk to begin working on the fall of Gato Industries.

+-*/\*-+

_' He is frightened, and he continues to drink his Sake every time something surprises him. He knows what is in store for him, he's a fool for not being honest with the old man. A mistake I will capitalize on.'_ Naruto thought as he smiled.

" What has you so happy Dobe?" Sasuke asked as he stared down his teammate.

" I'm excited over the fact were are taking a mission that will take place outside the walls of our home." Naruto said making Sasuke grunt before the avenger turned away.

"Is this your first time outside of Konoha?" Sakura asked since she was ashamed of admitting that fact.

" Today will be the start of the first of many things... Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a tone she couldn't figure out. But the kind smile he sent to her made her blush.

" **Cha! I wish Sasuke-kun smiled at us as much as Naruto!"**Inner Sakura yelled making her body wish the same.

_' Naruto's smile is still nice, especially his real one.'_ Sakura thought as Kakashi appeared and told them to head out.

" Prepare yourself Wave Country... for here comes Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said with confidence making Sakura giggle, Kakashi to chuckle, Sasuke to glare at him and Tazuna to look at the blond as if he was insane. Of course had he known anything about Naruto's days as a prankster the man would have worried for the place he was born and raised.

+-*/\*-+

**GatsuBerk: Hey its me again... this is one of the few stories that the words just came to me. So for those that follow this story... Surprise you get two updates while everyone else has to suffer if they are waiting for something else. The Wave Arc in on the way and I'm going to be making some major changes. I hope you can accept and enjoy them as time goes by. So please keep reading and reviewing since its the only thing reminding me about updating with the little time I can spare. Sorry for my Grammar and Spelling but if you are this deep into my stories I'm sure you already know that I don't really care about that.**

**For those waiting on updates for other stories please give me a little more time. I know I will update before the 25 of December. But A Jailer's Bones, Glory to the Kingdom and anything else I forgot will be updated soon. I didn't have plans on updating Orochimaru's Will and my Gundam Seed story but I might just for the few people that enjoyed those stories. I'm going to do my best to keep you guys happy and hopefully I will soon finish with this wave of updates that are badly needed. Once again I apologize for getting so damn behind but my profile should tell you what happened. Ja Ne.**


	14. Journey to Wave

**Mark of Failure**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

**+-*****/\*-+**

**GatsuBerk: Hey everyone sorry I'm late, did my best while trying to juggle the stuff happening in my life. Hope you guys enjoy and will do my best to update faster and with better quality. Read Review and all that good stuff. Ja Ne and Happy New Years.**

**+-*/\*-+**

**Chapter 14 : Journey to Wave.**

**+-*/\*-+**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

"**Demon or Summon Talking"**

_**'Demon or Summon Thinking'**_

***Jutsu***

_**Last Time on Mark of Failure:**_

"_Is this your first time outside of Konoha?" Sakura asked since she was ashamed of admitting that fact. _

" _Today will be the start of the first of many things... Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a tone she couldn't figure out. But the kind smile he sent to her made her blush. _

" _**Cha! I wish Sasuke-kun smiled at us as much as Naruto!"**Inner Sakura yelled making her body wish the same._

_' Naruto's smile is still nice, especially his real one.' Sakura thought as Kakashi appeared and told them to head out._

" _Prepare yourself Wave Country... for here comes Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said with confidence making Sakura giggle, Kakashi to chuckle, Sasuke to glare at him and Tazuna to look at the blond as if he was insane. Of course had he known anything about Naruto's days as a prankster the man would have worried for the place he was born and raised._

+-*/\*-+

It was a fairly pleasant trip to the border of Wave. For two days nothing out of the ordinary happened. They had been traveling at a civilian speed, but Tazuna had enough years of hard work to only need a reasonable amount of rest.

The first day Sasuke had been asked to go hunt. The Uchiha came back with some fish he had caught from a nearby stream. The second day Naruto had been sent, the golden blond had been fortunate to run into a rogue deer of the Nara clan. Of course he didn't know that when he killed the gentle grass eater. When he learned the truth, it made Naruto figure out why the animal hadn't cared about how close he had gotten to it. In fact the deer had been so well trained Naruto just walked up to it and stabbed it in the neck with a kunai after petting it for a few moments. When it started freaking out, the blond had been forced to make a few clones to hold it down and cover its mouth while the real Naruto finished slicing its throat. It made him feel bad but Naruto's stomach reminded him why he had ended the life of the deer.

Kakashi had been the one to point out the origin of the deer and Sakura had wanted to lecture Naruto on killing property belonging to his ninja allies. Naruto countered by reminding Sakura of how far they were from the Nara clan. Meaning that they clearly were too damn lazy to bother going after a lone deer. Besides it was better for ally Shinobi to kill it and eat it, than have it killed by a wild animals or captured by some random person.

Sasuke mentally admitted that Naruto's excuse would make sense, since they were already doing a job and were unable to escort it back. But to be honest he didn't really care since the deer meat tasted really good.

To calm Sakura down Naruto swore to tell Shikamaru about his run in with the deer. Naruto could already imagine the conversation, a fantasy which he hoped Sakura didn't gain.

+-*/\*-+

** Naruto's vision of dealing with Shikamaru.**

The young Mandarin was walking towards the top of the Hokage Monument, which had been a spot to rest Naruto had introduced to Shikamaru and the others. He could hear munching coming from the top allowing him to figure out who was on the top of the Yondaime's head.

"Choji... Shikamaru." Naruto said as his would be friends stared at him. They gave him a light greeting in return.

" Went to Wave Country, protected a drunk and saw one of your deers." Naruto said with a calm tone.

" Troublesome deer... what the hell was it doing all the way near Wave?" Shikamaru asked with his lazy tone making Naruto shrug his shoulders.

" Did you eat anything good at Wave?" Choji asked.

" They had some really good fresh meat I never had before, but the person that cooked it said it wasn't common in his menu." Naruto answered making Choji sad.

" Ah man... I was hoping you had tried a new dish or something." Choji said making Naruto nod his head.

" I figured you would so I brought you some snacks from Wave. I got to go train to become Hokage... so later." Naruto said as he passed the bags of snacks to the chubby Genin. He was sure Shikamaru knew what kind of meat Naruto was talking about, but the golden blond knew that the shadow user forgave him, due to him bringing some gifts for Shikamaru's best friend.

" You should come watch the clouds sometime you troublesome blond." Shikamaru said as he went back to favorite past time.

" I'll watch all the clouds I want when I stand on top of the world." Naruto said making Choji chuckle and Shikamaru to shake his head.

+-*/\*-+

" Sakura... remind me to buy a bag of snacks for Choji when we reach Wave." Naruto had suddenly said during the meal, making the pinkette nod her head, although she didn't understand why he needed to feed their fellow Rookie. Naruto didn't care about her confusion, he wanted to make sure to not make an enemy of Shikamaru. If his lazy classmate was smart enough to best a Jounin in mind games then it was safe for Naruto to assume the cloud watcher could be deadly with the proper motivation.

+-*/\*-+

" I sense something troublesome just happened." Shikamaru said as he ate with his team.

" I sense I will be receiving free food in the future." Choji said with a hypnotic tone making Ino slap the back of his head.

" Of course you will baka, Sensei always pays for our food." Ino growled making Choji depressed.

_' Not really, if I need money I just make you guys do more D-rank Missions than normal. Choji by himself can do four a day if you promise him some free food. Silly kid is paying my bills and his endless appetite. I love being a Jounin Sensei.'_ Asuma thought as he took a deep puff of his cigarette.

+-*/\*-+

After a good meal, Team Seven continued on their way to Wave. It was to be an a quick walk since they were going to reach the port to hire a ride over. However it was now that destiny decided to strike.

Naruto frowned as he looked at the puddle of water on the road. He knew something wasn't right about it, but he wasn't sure what to do. He could easily warn his allies triggering whatever the puddle was suppose to do. He could get closer to Tazuna and once again trigger the puddle... or he could ignore it and prepare himself for when shit hit the fan. He went with option C with the bonus points of kicking any ass that came his way. It was the only option that had the highest success of his survival without injuries.

Naruto stretched and yawned making all attention to fall on him. Preventing anyone from noticing the two kunai that fell out of his pants.

" Man that deer was good." Naruto said in a way his old self would have been proud of. Sakura giggled while shaking her head at his actions.

" Let the deer be... you won't be eating another anytime soon." Sakura said with a mock tone of anger. Naruto smirked at her before grabbing her hand and pulling her to him. His actions making Sasuke frown since he had been comfortable having a quiet Sakura next to him.

" I know you wouldn't dare to tell me you didn't like eating the deer. Even the Teme was munching on it like there was no tomorrow." Naruto said making Sakura pout.

"Don't over exaggerate Dobe." Sasuke grunted as he turned his face from them. Of course everyone that had eaten the high quality meat had been eating with more gusto than usual. In fact Sakura had feared she had eaten so much she had to go on a few days of starving herself back in the village to lose the new weight she had just gained. Inner Sakura crying as Naruto was tempting her with multiple plates of the juicy fresh and rare meat they had been eating.

" Fine it was good, but I know better than to hope I'm going to eat another one." Sakura said with a light blush making Kakashi chuckle from behind the group.

" That's my Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a smile making Sakura blush at him claiming her. Inner Sakura didn't seem to want to argue agaisnt such thoughts. Although it did made the comment that she preferred Sasuke doing it but wouldn't mind settling for Naruto.

" Once we get back to Konoha, I'm going to get my money and take you to a high class restaurant." Naruto said as he made Sakura twirl on her feet as she blushed up a storm. She couldn't stop the giggle because of his sudden and silly actions.

"Not just any place... but the best of the best. You're going to wear an outfit that will leave everyone speechless. I'm going to be my usual bad ass self, and then we'll dance the night away. Teme can stay at home brooding while Kakashi babysits him for us... I'll get him the next volume of his precious porn to bride the pervert." Naruto said as he pulled Sakura to him. Sasuke instantly glaring at the golden blond playing with their teammate as she was a puppet for his enjoyment. Kakashi making a mental note to reserve the next Icha Icha since Naruto was going to get it for him.

" Naruto no baka... we're on a mission." Sakura said with a weak voice as her blush darkened from being so close to the golden blond and the images her inner self was providing. She couldn't deny the fact that she was finding such fantasies to her liking.

" And then we'll have some nice juicy deer. I'll know you love it...Dattebayo." Naruto said as he locked eyes with the blushing Sakura.

" That's enough Naruto." Sasuke growled only for the Genin and Tazuna to turn towards the sudden sounds of chains flying through the air.

Many eyes grew as Kakashi was suddenly wrapped up by two enemy ninja. They hadn't noticed when they passed the puddle of water the ninja came out of.

" Here's number one." The older brother said as he pulled with his brother, instantly ripping their prey to shreds.

" Sensei!" Sakura yelled in horror when she saw her teacher be viciously killed.

" Who's next?" One brother asked as he moved his claws in a way to intimidate his potential targets.

" You are." A voice said making the eyes of the Ninja to grow. Two quick clouds of smoke erupted before two golden haired clones pounced on the younger brother. Their appearance a few inches from his rear shocking the two assassins.

" Shit!" The older brother yelled as he tried to save his brother, only to have Sasuke cut him off. He could see the third and most likely real golden blond charging the struggling clones holding his brother captive.

*** Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!*** Sasuke yelled as he launched balls of fire at the standing Kiri nin. The man had to remove the chain attached to his arm to escape the attack.

" Sakura protect Tazuna!" Naruto yelled as he delivered a devastating punch into the missing nin. Easily knocking the air out of the man. His clones helping by restraining the assassin as they wrapped his arms and legs together with their legs. Their left hands being used to choke the man to greatly weaken his strength and self control. He soon began to lose his strength and conscious as his body found less oxygen within it to function.

Sakura snapped out of her fear before she appeared in front of the drunk. The pinkette doing her best to hide the fear and pain she wanted to release. Luckily for her, the many years of training as a Kunochi was thankfully paying off.

" If I kill the old man then its all over." The older nin said before charging his target.

" You'll have to go through me." Sasuke said as he pulled out two kunai. He charged the older ninja only to be outclassed in Taijutsu by the older nin. The older brother was desperate to end the confrontation, he refused to let some punk get in his way. The Kiri rogue made an easily block able attack with his clawed hand. Which the confident and smirking Sasuke responded just how the ninja wanted.

The Kiri nin pulled back when their weapons clashed making Sasuke suddenly loose his footing. The last Uchiha had been pushing agaisnt his stronger opponent to test his strength only to lose his footing at the sudden disappearance of force working agaisnt him.

As Sasuke fell forward the claws wrapped around his two Kunai and pulled him further off his balance. Once he was in the perfect position, the assassin delivered a knee and elbow combo to the middle of Sasuke's torso to disable him. The man had seen how the blond had only knocked his brother out, instead of gaining an easy kill. It gave him some hope that the two could come out of this battle with their lives.

The assassin couldn't help but chuckle as Sakura jumped from Tazuna in fear of his charge. He saw the eyes of the old man fill with betrayal before his claws dug into him with a loud thunk.

" Wait... thunk?" The Kiri nin said before finding his claws unable to be removed from the body he stabbed.

" Shit... Genjutsu." The man thought before breaking the illusion on his senses to find himself stabbing a tree.

" Congratulations you got it on one." Naruto said before hitting his target's head with the ring of a Kunai to knock him out.

" Incredible you two took the guys that killed your sensei down like it wasn't a big deal." Tazuna said while Sakura was kneeling in front of him with her hands in some seals. She had some light sweat on her face but most of it was from fear of her desperate move not working.

" They never killed Kakashi." Naruto said as his clones dragged the two brothers and tied them up with ninja wire. His words making Sakura and Tazuna to fill with disbelief.

" Kawarimi..." Sakura said with awe what Sasuke would have said if he wasn't struggling to breathe. The Kiri nin had seen the need to kill in Sasuke and had put all his strength into making Sasuke helpless to stop him from interfering in any form of negotiations that would come.

" Exactly." Kakashi said as he came from behind a tree and looked at his students. Sasuke had been performing well in his eyes, although that praise was lost when he charged a stronger opponent head on. Sakura although frightened at first was able to react once she saw her teammates move. And after seeing Naruto's clones suddenly jump the Kiri nin, he knew the blond had figured out about the ambush before it happened.

"Naruto you did a good job of misdirecting these assassin." Kakashi said with pride.

" Misdirecting?" Sasuke grunted.

"The yawn... and when he started flirting with me." Sakura said with a blush as her mind figured out what her Jounin sensei meant, her words making Kakashi nod his head. A part of her hating the fact that there was a really big chance that everything Naruto had done before the fight was only an act.

" No matter what feelings we carry for our teammates we know better than to express them when lives are on the line. Because you three are Genin, it makes it easy for others to believe that you will still have trouble controlling your actions when there is no immediate danger present." Kakashi said making Naruto nod his head. Although he got the idea from a drunk Chuunin that had admitted to allowing an ambush to get past him, while he was fooling around with a civilian girl during a mission. Lucky for the man his team hadn't questioned him about what had happened. His fatigue and injuries from escaping the husband of the civilian had allowed him to play it off as him fighting a ninja that had ran away.

" Since I left Konoha I've been attaching two kunai to the sides of my legs." Naruto said making the eyes of Sakura and Tazuna to grow.

" Those kunai were the two clones that jumped that one guy." Sakura stated making Naruto nod his head.

" Every time we break I dispose of them when I go to relieve myself in the woods. I then make two more and attach them when we head out once again. I'm only able to use the basics as the foundation of my fighting. Which is why I work so hard to use them in ways that no one ever considered before." Naruto said making Kakashi chuckle.

" Well its safe to say that your basics are more than enough to get you through a ninja battle." Kakashi said making the group turn to the groaning Sasuke.

" He's going to be out for a while. Naruto secure the prisoners, Sakura help Sasuke get back to his feet, while I have a chat with our client." Kakashi said with a serious face.

Naruto nodded his head before making a few clones to grab the two men and drag them to a tree. Where Naruto was waiting with more ninja wire. Once they were unable to move Naruto made four clones to guard them before heading back to the others.

" So what did the drunk have to say?" Naruto asked Sakura as she finished bandaging Sasuke's body. Their teammate had some nasty bruises, that needed for her to place a special ointment, an ointment that apparently he hadn't been able to handle without complaining. Inner Sakura felt it was bitching to the extreme than the calm complaining Sakura was reporting. Inner Sakura and the main conscious could tell Naruto had figured out what had really happened.

" Something about some guy named Gato enslaving his people. Kakashi-sensei just finished whistling down a messenger hawk," Sakura said making Naruto form a confused face.

" Who's Gato?" Naruto asked making Sakura explain everything she had heard, in way that made it sound like she had known everything from the beginning. Naruto didn't care what came out of her mouth, since he just needed a way to officially gain information on the Business Tycoon. It was much easier for Naruto to fake confusion than surprise when hearing the man's name. Not to mention Sasuke had his back to him and Kakashi was too busy to notice.

" You've gotten really good with that Illusion." Naruto said making Sakura blush.

" Well its a basic, I was always good at it but didn't use them, since we were suppose to get stronger jutsus by now." Sakura said before glaring at the direction Kakashi was suppose to be at. " It pretty much tricks the mind by giving them what they want to see. Its usually leaves a small moment for me to take advantage of but lucky for me you were there to help." Sakura said making Naruto smirk.

" If Sasuke hadn't played training dummy I wouldn't have made it in time." Naruto said making Sasuke turn his head and glare at him. Naruto gave him a quick glare back before standing and walking off to see what Kakashi wanted to do.

" I didn't think Sasuke was going to be beat so easily." Sakura said as she stoped walking behind Naruto, not learning of the shock she had just given him by following after him. Once he got himself under control he turned his head to look at her and saw Sasuke brooding on his own as he rubbed his bandages.

" They were at least Chuunin, even if I knew they were coming, I hadn't been able to sense when they had actually trapped Kakashi." Naruto said making Sakura look at him with shock.

" But you beat them." Sakura tried to point out.

" Only because I'm used to facing guys that underestimate me. And the second one lost thanks to you." Naruto said making Sakura blush and rub one of her hands with the other one while looking away.

" Because you reminded me of the mission. Seeing you take that guy down gave me the strength to help. Otherwise I would have never moved. I don't even remember feeling you let go of me." Sakura said with a blush making Naruto turn from her.

" I don't blame you for losing focus when you see your Sensei killed so easily. And I know that even without me telling you what to do, you would have done the right thing." Naruto said making Sakura give him a light hug.

" Thanks Naruto for being there." Naruto blushed at her show of affection.

" **I can get used to this."** Inner Sakura said as she felt the natural warmth radiating from Naruto.

_' Me too... I'm starting to think I can never feel this good when I'm with Sasuke...' _Sakura said as she tightened her hold on Naruto. She was starting to understand why Hinata found it so easy to faint around the lovable blond. He only needed a single chance and he would worm his way into your heart.

" **Cha! That stuck up garbage breath brat didn't even thanked us for saving his sorry ass. Naruto did all the real butt kicking, and in the end we wrapped Sasuke up so that his wounds would heal properly... and what do we get? Nothing! Not a single thank you from the prince of all things Emo. I'm glad that guy kicked his ass."** Inner Sakura said making the pinkette blush at the things she said about her usual crush. She also blushed as Naruto looked much more manlier in her mind as he single handedly fought off the two Assassins with Sasuke crying with fear on the side.

" Don't mention it." Naruto said as he broke out of her grasp. His actions a little too forced and quick making them unable to not set off warning signs in the pink head of his teammate.

" What's wrong?" Sakura asked as Naruto took a deep breathe.

_' Here comes the moment of truth... Times to see if those weeks of pain were worth it.' _The young Mandarin thought as he looked straight into her Emerald eyes.

" I don't think Ino would like it if you keep hugging me like this." Naruto said making betrayal fill the emerald eyes of his teammate.

" Ino? What does Ino have to do with anything that we do?" Sakura asked making Naruto look away.

" Ino and I have been getting close. So close that I'm starting to think I spend more time with her than I do my own teammates." Naruto said making Sakura step away.

" But you've only hanged out with her a few times after our missions." Sakura said in hopes that what she said would help Naruto see the truth. A truth that was simply the fact that Naruto needed her in his life almost as much as she needed him in hers. A truth she knew that Ino would do everything in her power to hide. A truth that apparently Naruto was trying to ignore.

" That's because the days she isn't waiting for me I go pick her up at the her family's shop." Naruto said making Sakura's face fill with disbelief. " Her mom has no problem with us being a couple, since she is always teasing us on how long its going to take for her to gain grandchildren. Her father keeps dragging me off to train with him after I eat dinner at his place, while muttering something about making sure I can protect his princess. And Ino... well she's being Ino, but if you say the right things and give her a chance she becomes someone I don't mind being with." Naruto said making Sakura step back. She couldn't find any lies from his words, which caused a fear in her heart to find its way to her mouth.

" So you're going to start dating her?" Sakura asked with a little bit of hope that he would deny such a ridiculous question. After all it was too early for him to start dating. Much less date a person Sakura didn't approve of. Of course Inner Sakura naturally said that there was only one person worthy of being with Naruto.

" Depends on what she wants, but I wouldn't mind making it official." Naruto said making Sakura turn away with pain. A part of Naruto couldn't help but love the feelings he was stirring in his long time tormentor. A small beaten, chained and silenced part wishing he would stop all his lies and scheming and start being true to himself once again. That part unfortunately was once again placed through great deal of pain thanks to the new Mandarin emerging from the depths of the soul of the golden blond.

" I see... I'm happy for you." Sakura said as she tried to control her tears, she couldn't understand why him being with Ino was hurting her so much. The idea of Ino getting so close to him was ludicrous in her mind. Especially when they had yet to be given a real chance to get working on their friendship to see where it would lead.

" Thanks, that means a lot to me... now we can focus on being teammates." Naruto said making Sakura's heart to ache. She wanted to storm off, she wanted to hit and scream at Naruto for giving her place in his heart to Ino. A hidden part of her wanted to kiss him and show him that she cared about him more than what Ino did. That part quickly growing strength as Sakura became more desperate to keep what she had once thought would always be hers. But she was never given the chance since Kakashi was calling them.

" Are you okay Sakura?" Kakashi asked as he saw the remaining tears that Sakura tried to wipe away.

" I'll be fine Sensei, I just got something on my mind but I can still protect Tazuna." Sakura said making Kakashi to smile at her for her courage, he turned to Naruto to see why the pink haired Kunochi was crying. Only to have Naruto mouth the name of Inoichi's princess.

_' Right... I heard about those two getting together... must have been a bigger shock to Sakura than I thought. Maybe I shouldn't' have told her to wait and see what was happening when she came looking to me for advice.'_ Kakashi thought as he felt bad for the young girl.

+-*/\*-+

A day after Sasuke forcing a kiss on Sakura the pinkette had hunted Kakashi down. It was mostly to warn the man to not attack her if she ended up breaking Sasuke's balls during their team training. After demanding an explanation Kakashi learned about what Sasuke did during their one time of training without a complete team. The man had been greatly upset at his student forcing himself on Sakura, mainly because Sakura reminded him of a young Rin, before the Yondaime broke her out of her fan girl mentality. And with a little more screeching and physical abuse.

The man made a mental note to hold back on Sasuke's training when he learned about how Sasuke was taught to win someone's love. Then Kakashi quickly memorized everything he learned the three female Genin had said. Which made Kakashi shocked over the fact it mostly revolved around the golden blond. Normally he would think them too young for such a conversation. But then he remembered they were Kunochi that had been forced to mature much faster than normal girls. Things was done this way to help them identify the difference between love and lust. This way they were better guarded agaisnt males trying to win their favor, especially when on a mission.

The Jounin at first felt Naruto was playing hard to get. The man had assumed the golden blond was mimicking an Icha Icha character. He honestly believed that Naruto's love was much stronger than what the blond refused to admit. Its why the Jounin agreed with Sakura when she stated Naruto's true feelings.

Kakashi had seen Naruto grow up, and he had heard about the poor Haruno girl being hounded by the Kyuubi's reincarnation from an early age. The man understood that first love, especially the love Naruto was willing to give, was not something that is so easily cast aside. In fact the man had assumed it was going to take many years of physical, emotional, and mental abuse. Along with over half a dozen near death experience before Naruto wised up and admitted Sakura didn't love him. Then the blond would be miserable for a decade before moving on.

Kakashi knew it sounded like a terrible way to get over puppy love but he knew Naruto was a true member of the Uzumaki Clan. He had read and had first hand experienced at the famous longevity of the Uzumaki Clan. Especially when his sensei, a man he saw as a father married a woman who was older than him by ten years. She just looked younger because she aged slower and there was all the times she healed some wounds that even he found impossible by ninja standards. Till this day he knew Kushina's death hadn't been because of complications during birth, but unfortunately he couldn't figure out another reason why the woman had died. And all traces of any form of a crime would be long gone by now._** (A/N: I don't know Kushina's age but fuck it... its my Fanfiction people...I can do what I want... its perfectly democratic... so go to hell,)**_

Kakashi had honestly tried to give his best advice possible, since he cared about the Kunochi under his charge. He held back on training her because he wanted her to ask for it. It would make it more rewarding for her and easier to work real training into her life. He made sure Naruto and Sasuke were always in a position to help her, since he knew what could happen to a Kunochi if they are caught by their enemies. Even if its a girl as young and underdeveloped as Sakura. He didn't tell Sakura to risk rocking the boat with Naruto, since he knew how much she needed the golden blond in her life. And the man refused to make two unstable teens to push each other away just because they didn't know who or what they wanted.

+-*/\*-+

_' Maybe I should have sent her to Kurenai instead... then again she would have just tipped the scale in favor of Hinata.'_ Kakashi thought before looking at Sasuke. The Uchiha like always was unhappy and brooding about something. Kakashi wasn't sure why the boy was upset and didn't care. The man hadn't notice the hate his student was sending to the son of his sensei.

" I'm glad you feel you can continue Sakura." Kakashi said with his eye smile as he oozed pride for the pinkette. _' Even if you don't look like it...' _The man thought as she finished wiping her tears.

" However, we are now faced with a major problem." Kakashi said making Tazuna flinch from behind the Jounin.

" What problem?" Naruto asked since he worried it might interfere with his plans.

" Tazuna lied to us, he endangered our lives by refusing to plea his case to the Hokage. And now if we continue we can easily expect to face a stronger opposition than before. Especially when word of the defeat of the Demon Brothers reaches Gato." Kakashi said making Naruto frown. This was a major problem, he could easily forget interfering. Stupid ass Kakashi was going to force him to throw away such a wonderful opportunity. An opportunity he need to take no matter what.

_' Not on my watch.' _Naruto thought as he saw his teammates figuring out what Kakashi had planned.

" Your point?" Naruto said making the group look at him with shock. "Since when has a mission ever followed all the details of a plan?" Naruto said making Kakashi stare at him with no sign of what the man was thinking. " We won't be Shinobi if we couldn't endure things like this. You got ANBU coming to pick those two up, right?" Naruto asked making Kakashi nod his head.

"Then lets leave a message saying we went on ahead and to send reinforcements if they don't hear from us in the next three days." The golden blond said making Tazuna want to hug him.

" The Dobe is right, we can't just leave the people of Wave to suffer. Its our duty to finish this mission and defeat anyone that stands in our way." Sasuke said with determination. He would show the Dobe who was the strongest Genin.

_' Naruto and Sasuke want to continue. I know there will be a lot of danger but atleast Kakashi and Naruto will be there to help me. And Sasuke will probably fight someone and take that person's attention from me.'_ Sakura thought as she tried to figure out what to do. She wanted to be a hero, but she was scared. They had to defend a massive bridge for a whole month. And its builder from a heartless and evil billionaire that could hire as many ninja as he wanted.

_' It will be nearly impossible to protect a target of that size for a whole month.'_ Sakura thought with pain as she prepared to give in her vote.

**' If we use Naruto's clones it should be easy, and we'll get to be with him for a whole month. That's a whole month without him seeing Ino. He's being confused by that back stabbing pig, but if we continue we can set him straight. Hell we can even make him ours with enough time and a little charm.' **Inner Sakura said making her body look at the golden blond that was checking his equipment.

" We need to do what's right Sensei." Sakura said with determination making Kakashi give her an eye smile.

"Well Tazuna it looks like my Genin decided to spare your family some grief." The Jounin said making Tazuna thank all the gods he knew.

" The faster we get there the safer we will be, right Sensei?" Naruto said making Kakashi nod his head.

" Yes, but we will be safer if we had a bird's eye view." Kakashi said making his Genin confused before they figured out what he said.

" I should have never showed this to you three." Naruto grumbled since his arms would always remain as tired as hell if he was forced to fly for a long periods of time.

" Leave a clone so that they won't suspect anything." Sasuke said making Sakura agree with him out of habit.

" My god Sasuke, I of all people would have never... in a hundred years... ever think of use a clone to trick someone." Naruto said with sarcasm making himself shake his head at the stupidity of the Rookie of the Year. Before any other word could be said Naruto got a running start and jumped before becoming a cloud of smoke. A screech of a Golden Eagle filled the air before he flew higher into the air at a speed that left them speechless.

" He just... flew away." Tazuna said with awe as he looked at the bird that became Naruto.

" I wonder." Kakashi said before using a whistle he had once done to get the attention of Naruto when he was younger. The brown speck Naruto had become flinched before circling above them. It then went on to dive bombing towards them. Kakashi put his hand out and the transformed Naruto tried to land on the extended limb only to miss by a few centimeters and having to land on the ground.

" What." Naruto said as he reappeared from a cloud of smoke.

" How does it feel to fly?" Sakura asked even though she was still sad about what was happening with their relationship. Naruto stared at her for a minute before looking to the sky.

" It makes your feel free." Naruto with an honest smile making Sakura upset it wasn't directed at her.

" You ninja sure are amazing." Tazuna said with awe.

" I'm one of a kind. So what did you want?" Naruto asked as he looked at his sensei.

" I wanted to get your attention." Kakashi said making the golden blond to glare at him. " The whistle I made is for you to come down, and try to stay at half as high as before.

" I hear you, but the height I reached before is my usual cruising altitude but I'll do my best." Naruto said before jumping on a branch and then kicking off it to get higher. Naruto flew into the air once more and traveled at a closer range.

" How can he do that?" Tazuna asked with awe. He had heard about ninja doing amazing things but Naruto just took the cake.

" He took a basic transformation to a level no one had ever dreamed to reach." Kakashi said making Tazuna agree with him.

" I wonder if he can teach me to fly?" Sakura asked making everyone look at her with shock.

+-*/\*-+

Naruto nearly flew for three hours straight, a personal new record. He would have celebrated if his arms didn't feel like falling off. Kakashi finally gave him the signal to come down and Naruto was more than glad to do so.

Sakura and Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little envious as he swooped down and reappeared from a cloud of smoke. His landing making him look like was returning from taking a light jog.

" What now?" Naruto asked as they waited at the nearly abandoned port. Naruto was sure it wasn't suppose to be this way because they were still in Fire country.

" We're waiting for Tazuna's friend that will take us across the sea." Sakura whispered making Naruto's eyes to grow. He shrugged his shoulders and sat at the base of a tree and leaned on it before going to sleep. Normally Kakashi would have talked down about such actions but he saw the Kunai Naruto stabbed into the ground in front of him before closing his eyes.

_' That Kunai is more than likely a Clone... if its going to keep him alive then there really is no reason for him to stand. I'll let him rest since he spent so much time flying.'_ Kakashi thought before seeing the people around him to relax.

It was two hours later that they finally saw the man Tazuna was waiting for. Naruto studied the rower and the boat he owned.

_' The guy looks dirt poor._' Naruto thought as they started to get on the boat to leave. Naruto leaned on the side of the small boat letting his left hang dip into the water around them. His eyes staring into the water to see what was under them.

Sasuke merely grunted and started brooding while Sakura looked between the two. She was still upset that Naruto had faked asking her out to throw off some ninja, and then had the nerve to tell her about his potential girlfriend. Especially when she was starting to lean her feelings towards his direction. She turned to watch Sasuke for a while and saw his open eyes full of hate, as if they were killing something with their mere stare.

Naruto on the other was unable to hide his child like innocence as he found something fun to do while ridding in silence.

_' They really are like night and day.'_ Sakura thought as she watched her two teammates with a sad face.

_' Was my team this messed up?'_ Kakashi thought before feeling the Sharingan under his head band to let out a tear._ ' Right.' _

Wanting to stop the endless silence Tazuna decided to tell them how Gato was enslaving his people.

_' Frankly I don't care... I'm only here for one reason.'_ Naruto thought as he ran his left hand through his hair. Not noticing the effect it was having on Sakura because of his new looks.

_' Why couldn't he be like this when we were in the academy?'_ Sakura thought with a blush as she took in his more dark and dangerous look. His new looks easily resembling that of their Yondaime, she had seen another guy try to pull it off in the academy, but the failure of a ninja couldn't compete with how natural it came to Naruto.

" **Are you insane? If he was like this back then that bacon whore would have taken him from us a long time ago."** Inner Sakura yelled as she held a Naruto doll in her hand while using a whip to keep a pig dressed like Ino from her. It had already torn through a Sasuke doll and a few other Genin copies. Inner Sakura would whip at it when it tried to eat the doll in her hands.

_' Why did Ino have to meet this Naruto first? For Kami's sake she had nightmares of him coming to get her when we were growing up.'_ Sakura thought as she remembered the large sleepover they had at Ino's place that resulted with ten young girls screaming their heads off.

**' I remember Piggy wet herself from all the squealing she did... I bet if we told Naruto about that it would put us in the lead.'** Inner Sakura said making Sakura giggle and like that idea. She was unable to see the strange looks she got from the males of the boat.

" This is as far as I can take you. I'm sorry Tazuna... I'll pray for the spirits to guide you." The rower said before leaving as he dropped them off.

Kakashi was preparing to tell Naruto to get to flying again only to see him throw three Shuriken into the woods. He saw two puffs of smoke before some squirrels that began running around. One became a small falcon that began to fly off. If Kakashi wasn't in a life and death situation he would have laughed.

Naruto took the lead since he didn't want Sakura finding a way past his defense once more. Especially when the main part of his Anti-Sakura barrier was back in Konoha. Kakashi nodded to the group making them go into their new formation.

' _What the hell is wrong with this fog?'_ Naruto thought as he walked for thirty minutes. His eyes grew and he quickly turned his head as he heard his Falcon Clone go smashing into something. The group watching with disbelief as they saw it fly out of some bushes with a white rabbit.

_' Ambush...' _Kakashi thought as he began to scan the area.

" Get down!" Kakashi yelled as he tackled Tazuna down. His Genin soon following as a massive blade flew over their heads.

_' There's another.' _Naruto thought as he remembered having his falcon clone killed by Senbon before dropping the white hare. _' Bitch,'_Naruto growled as his eyes grew.

The group watched as a man now stood on the handle of the massive blade that had been used in an attempt to killed.

" My coat." Naruto suddenly said making all attention fall on him. He stood while holding in his exposed hand a black piece of leather of high quality. " It had special seals and now its fucking ruined. It's going to be a bitch buying another one." Naruto said making everyone look at him with shock as his trench coat now became a normal coat thanks to the perfect cut.

_' That's right... Sensei had the same problem with his Trench Coats. Especially when he was forced to use the Hiraishin.' _Kakashi thought with a light chuckle.

" You have more things to worry about than some threads." The rogue assassin said making Naruto look at him.

" Momochi Zabuza... to think you of all people would sink so low." Kakashi said as he looked at the man with his single eye.

" Your one to talk Hatake Kakashi... to think a man of your worth would be teaching some brats." Zabuza said making the Majority of the Genin to frown at him. Naruto on the other hand had a bored look.

" Can we get this started?" Naruto asked making all attention to fall on him. " Its not that I'm bored watching two old farts go into a pissing contest... but we're kind of here to do a job. And I definitely don't want this drag on long enough for the drunk to shit himself from fright." Naruto said as he pointed towards the frightened Tazuna that was being affected by the Killing Intent being rated by the two Jounin. The man couldn't believe how the two men wished to kill each other to such a degree yet hold a normal conversation.

" On the other hand I don't got problem seeing Sasuke slit himself." Naruto said making Sakura look at her crush with shock. She could see him trembling at the Kunai near his throat.

" Everything is going to be okay Sasuke... I won't let my teammates be killed." Kakashi said making the Uchiha to calm down.

" We'll see about that." Zabuza said as he disappeared from the tree with his massive blade. " Kiri Gakure no jutsu!"

" Oh look... a water ninja using water to attack. I never saw this coming" Naruto said as a thick fog began to cut off their vision.

" Naruto keep your guard up this isn't going to be like our training in the village." Kakashi aid making Naruto role his eyes.

_' I'm way ahead of you.' _Naruto thought as he heard Zabuza start laughing.

" You got guts kid, not many willing to act so calm while they are trapped in my technique." Zabuza said making Naruto turn towards the direction the voice came from. Even if he knew that it wasn't going to be where the man was.

"You don't say." Naruto said with a tone that Sakura knew the Rogue wasn't going to like.

" I do." Zabuza said as he appeared in between the group of Genin and swung his sword.

+-*/\*-+

**GatsuBerk: I went over this chapter a few dozen times yet I was never able to remake it. Even if there was many times I kept feeling it didn't come out right. To those that liked it I'm glad for those that don't I'm sorry I failed you. Anyway I hope to see you next time, oh and those waiting for an update on A Jailer's Bonus I am deeply sorry for not finishing soon there is one fight that I can't seem able to make believable in the way that I wish for it to go down. Hopefully the new year will lead to new ideals that everyone can enjoy.**


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